Flowey Blooms
by semiticgod
Summary: Frisk and company have left for the surface. Flowey remains trapped in the Underground, and is faced with the prospect of living in eternal isolation. His only guidance comes from a desperate note from Asriel, carved into the walls of the Ruins in the hopes that Flowey's pain can be soothed, and his wrath, contained.
1. Chapter 1: TRAPPED

Dear Flowey,

Howdy!

I'm sure you remember everything I'm about to write, but I thought I'd put it down anyway. Just so it's there.

I'm sorry for this. But I've made my decision. You have to stay down here in the Underground. Forever. You know I can't let you escape.

* * *

I have to keep you away from EVERYONE.

I can't let you get out EVER.

* * *

I'm so sorry.

* * *

By the time you read this, everyone will be gone. They're leaving right now. By the time I turn into you, everyone should be gone, and you will be alone.

I wouldn't leave you alone down here if I didn't have to. But you know I can't let them stay. You'll do awful things to them if they do. We both know what happened before Frisk came along.

So you have to stay down here, alone. You can't get out. Even if Mom and Dad and Frisk and everyone else grows old and moves on, because they're not the only ones I have to protect. You're a threat to _everybody_.

* * *

But I still care about you, and not just because we're the same person. I've still got a little bit left. SOUL.

I can still feel love, for a little while longer. Compassion. All of the things I know you won't be able to understand, because I didn't understand them when I was a flower, either. But I do now. And I care about you. So I have to tell you some things.

* * *

Listen. I know what I'm talking about. You _know_ I know. So please listen.

You're going to want to feel something again. You're going to want somebody to play with. But you can't do that. Not anymore.

You're going to want to start it all over again. You'll want to play another game. But you have to know something.

* * *

THERE IS NO FUTURE IN WHAT YOU WANT.

THERE IS ONLY PAIN AHEAD OF YOU.

* * *

If you find other people to torment, it's not going to make you happy. Okay? You need to try something else.

I'm sure there's something down here that can stop the boredom and the pain. I don't know what it is, so I guess you'll have to figure it out.

Get creative. Poke around in the garbage. Alphys found lots of stuff in there. Learn to sing. Paint something. Read a book. Anything.

* * *

And if you try and try and try, and it still doesn't work, then maybe you can figure out how to die and not come back. Maybe there's a way to get rid of DETERMINATION. If there is, you can get rid of the emptiness once and for all. You can kill yourself. Then it will be over—without determination, you won't ever come back.

* * *

But.

If you _do_ figure out how to get rid of determination, maybe you can figure out some other things, too. We've already learned a lot about this world, more than other people could even imagine. Maybe there's more.

You might want to use that new knowledge to escape the Underground. But I have a better idea than using that knowledge to reach the surface and start playing the same old game.

* * *

Find love. Get a soul. Start feeling things again. I promise you, there is nothing better than feeling love. It's the best thing I've felt since before I became a flower. It's better than hurting people. It's better than a game. It's better than anything.

I know you won't remember what it feels like. You know there's something called love, but you won't know what it is. But it's real, Flowey. It's realer than anything else.

 _I think it's even realer than determination._

Maybe that's why Frisk won. Both of us had determination. But they had love, too. And that was enough to win, even when we planned so long and tried so hard to take over.

Love won. "Kill or be killed" lost.

So if you find out something big and figure out how to mess with reality even more… try finding love before you try anything else. You won't regret it.

* * *

I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I don't want to do this to you. I know how much it's going to hurt. I wish I could save you. I wish we could go back to the way things were. And it hurts so much that we can't.

* * *

It's slipping away. I can feel it leaving. The emptiness is coming. It's scary.

* * *

Chara.

I almost forgot to mention them.

You're going to want to bring back Chara.

Please, please don't bring back Chara.

I love them so much. Despite all of the bad things, they were my best friend. They'll always have a place in my heart. Even after the love is gone, I'm sure you'll want them back.

But that's a bad idea. We saw the other humans. You know Chara is different, but it's not a good kind of different. It's bad.

I know Chara was a friend of ours.

But Chara was friends with _Asriel_. You're not Asriel, not without love. And if Chara comes back and finds Flowey instead of Asriel, they will not be your friend. They will leave you here.

If you're lucky.

If you're _not_ lucky, Chara will do the same thing you tried to do to Frisk.

Chara will kill you.

And then they'll reset it.

Just so they can kill you again.

And again.

And again.

You're fragile, Flowey. You're _not_ the strongest thing in the world. If Chara wants to hurt you, they will hurt you _forever_.

* * *

So don't try to escape. The games we played aren't fun anymore.

And don't try to bring back Chara. We weren't the same when we came back. Chara won't be the same, either.

If you can, find a way to get a soul back. Find a way to feel love again.

But if you can't do that, then find a way to get rid of your determination. Kill yourself. Spare us both the pain.

And if you can't do that, then find something else. It can be anything.

Because anything is better than the games we played. And anything is better than being murdered by Chara until the end of time.

Good luck. I'm cheering you on, from the past.

Love,

YOU

* * *

Dear Asriel,

Howdy.

Gee… where do I begin?

There are so many things wrong with everything you just said.

You think it's _so easy_. You think I can just take up painting, and paint over the emptiness.

What do I paint with, Asriel? The brown sludge that collects in Waterfall? The oil and soot in Hotland? Or do I just rip my body to shreds and bleed my pigment onto a canvas of rotten wood, and put it on display where all the nice people can see it, _all the nice people who don't live here anymore?_

The people here were the only things that make Underground worth living in. And you took them all away from me.

You took my life away. You stole everything.

No, I think I understand just fine. Love isn't the best feeling in the world. Love is the power you use to crush others. Love is the reason I'm down here. Love is the reason I'm TRAPPED!

You love people so much that you put me in my own little hell, just to keep me away. Frisk loved people so much they tore this world away from me. I was the GOD of this world!

No, you don't know what I'm feeling. Things have changed. It's not like the last time I was a flower.

 _This time is so much worse._

I wish you were here. I wish you were with me. Because I want you to feel the pain that I have felt.

I am going to bring you back. I'm not going to let go of the determination. I'm going to get more.

I will get so much determination that I can reset everything. Even you.

I'm going to bring you back, Asriel. And I will spend the rest of eternity slicing open your fuzzy little body. And "Mom" and "Dad," too.

But don't worry. I'm letting _you_ off easy.

Frisk is the one I really want.

And I'm going to make them scream.

LOVE,

FLOWEY

* * *

 _I THREW A PARTY._

…

 _AND EVERYONE CAME._


	2. Chapter 2: Echo Flowers and Emptiness

Flowey's Journal, Part 1:

Finally, I can write things down. With Sans out of the picture, I don't have to worry about being spied on.

This is a big change. I was always afraid Sans could reset just like I could—he knew more than he should have, more than he _could_ have, without resetting. If that was true, his memory would carry over from timeline to timeline, and he could gather information that he could use against me. I had to keep a lot of secrets to make sure he couldn't stop my plans.

He probably had the same idea. He had his own share of secrets, and he never let anything slip out. I tried so hard to get him to open up. But he knew better than to tell me what was really going on with him.

It doesn't matter. Sans is gone now. And after a few days scouring the Underground, I've seen no traces of him.

I'll still keep looking. He is too dangerous for me to let my guard down.

* * *

A journal will make things much easier. There was so much information I just had to memorize before… it was exhausting.

Asriel was right about one thing. I do need to look for something different. Something new. Something stronger. Determination isn't going to be enough to get me out of this mess.

* * *

Golly, it hurts.

This is a whole other kind of emptiness. I didn't know loneliness got like this.

It hasn't even been that long. Just a few days. This is going to be hard.

* * *

It comes to me in spasms. Most of the time, it's just blank. Empty. Gray. Boring. But then, a memory comes back to me, and then it starts to hurt.

I have to dig into the ground to scream. I can't stand to hear the sound of my own crying. The echoes are horrible.

I was always a crybaby, wasn't I?

* * *

This is so much harder than I thought. I'm so tired. I don't even want to write.

* * *

I'm back! Finally, it stopped. I feel good. I feel _awake_. And I got so much done!

There are actually still some monsters down here. A few, at least. A little Froggit apparently lingered too long in the Ruins, and there's a Whimsun at home. Two monsters so far.

Probably not useful. But we'll see.

* * *

Why is this happening to me? What did Asriel do to me? All those souls must have torn me up when they left. I feel like I've been cut to shreds.

* * *

What am I even doing? Asriel said to look for something different. How am I supposed to be "creative?" What does that even mean?

I only learned about resetting by killing myself. That knowledge was a complete accident! If there's something else, what could it be? What else is there to know about this world that Asriel thinks I can find?

Sans.

If there's something else for me to find, Sans would know what it was.

I've never been able to slip into that room of his. Or that shack behind his house. I always thought his secrets must be hidden in there, but he always stopped me when I tried to get inside.

Without him around, maybe I can finally break in and find out what he knows.

* * *

It's hopeless. The same defenses are in place. Bullet after bullet, and the place still won't come apart. Not even a dent. It still won't catch fire. Fire won't even melt the snow on the roof.

* * *

I spent a long time in Papyrus' room. I miss him. He was fun.

I think I'll make a snow Papyrus. Just to see what it looks like.

I tore it down. It disgusted me.

The snow Papyrus didn't talk. The real Papyrus could never hold still and stay quiet like that snow skeleton. It felt wrong. An imposter.

* * *

No monsters in Snowdin. The presents are still lying on the ground, untouched.

The wrapping paper is damp with snow.

* * *

I should go to the lab. If I can't look into Sans' head, maybe I can settle for the second best. Alphys.

I need to get to Hotland. Maybe I can poke around Waterfall on the way.

* * *

I spent hours listening to the Echo Flowers. They're all that's left of the monsters who left the Underground.

All the voices left are old ones. I've already heard everything they have to say. But it's the best company I've got down here.

I should have hid some of them, to keep them from learning new phrases. There are only three left that still have Chara's voice.

"Okay."

"This is boring. Let's go."

"Come on, hurry up!"

And that's it. My best friend, reduced to ten words.

That's the problem with Echo Flowers. They only say the last thing they hear. Everything else is lost forever.

The only reason those three flowers still have Chara's voice is because they were hidden really far from the rest. Nobody ever came by and erased the message.

There are so many things I want to hear again. Now, they're only in my head.

The worst part is that, most of the time, the person who erased Chara's voice was me.

"Race you!"

I wish I'd just kept my mouth shut.


	3. Chapter 3: DEEP history of tem

Unbelievable. There are so many Temmies out here, buzzing around and running into walls and all the other stupid nonsense. I'm so sick of the tems. Of all the monsters that had to stay in the Underground, why did it have to be them?

Of course. It's because they were dumb enough to stay.

* * *

tEM borrow jurnal

mAKE new frend

h0I jurnal

* * *

h0i sleepy flowur

* * *

waIt… this is… flower jurnal!

h0i flowur!

flower is big sleepie head

* * *

temmie think of smart idea…

tem borrow jurnal and make new pen pal!

* * *

h0i jurnal

this is temmy

tem writing in journel now

temmie is sofistaca

sofers

sophistaca

sophistacrater

sofa

temmiy is good writer

* * *

welcom to WATERFFALL!

waterfal has TONS of stuf

tem show pretty garbadge to jurnal

* * *

jurnal give BIg hug to teddie bere

* * *

sleepy flowur wrote so much…

temmie can write so much to!

* * *

h0I!

temmie writing histry book!

DEEP history of tem!

* * *

once upon a t0ime,

temmie hav new idea

TEmmie wil create tem villag

but tems in danger

many tems get together

fight evil dargon… to deFEND VILLAG!

dragon… appologize and run away!

everyone says tems very brAVe

temmie very famus for slaying evil lizerd

lizzie

lizard

laz

temmie very famus for slaying evil lion

build statu in onner

lion giv prize to tems in thanks

lion build villag for tem

temmie… really APRECIATE!

* * *

then tEmmie wr0Ite histery book

tem will show book to sleepie flowur

flower become very prowd of temmie

* * *

 _temmie steal jurnal…_

 _but flower hapy!_

 _flower so proud of temmie…_

 _that flower_ kill _temmie!_

 _temmie… d0I in pain!_

* * *

Asriel was right. That didn't make me feel happy.

But it made me feel a LOT less angry.


	4. Chapter 4: Chara's Grave

I found the old memorial to me. Frisk's umbrella fell over.

I put the umbrella back up.

* * *

If there's anyone besides me and Sans who really knows what's going on, it's Alphys. I've already read all of her notes, but maybe there's something I haven't found yet. The lab may have the answers I'm looking for.

* * *

Finally. Hotland.

Sign's broken.

* * *

Ugh.

Now I remember why I didn't like spying on Alphys.

So much of her stuff has nothing to do with her work. Almost everything on her desk is about cartoons and comics.

And it's not just notes or reviews or clippings. Half of the mess is just drawings and her _own_ little stories. She actually writes stories and comics using the same characters in those cartoons… romances and dramas and other garbage. She even writes stories about real people. She puts Undyne and Asgore everywhere… even _herself_ , sometimes. It's just as pathetic as I remember.

Amazing. Some people are so afraid of the real world that it's not even enough for them to live in a fantasy world. They actually write their own dorky fantasies about _other_ people's dorky fantasies.

She even proofreads them, as if she's afraid somebody might actually read them and notice a mistake. What kind of person would actually _read_ any of this? Does she really think anybody would care?

Ha. Ha. Maybe I should start writing my own stories. I guess that's what you do when you're stuck in a painful world and you know you'll never get out.

No, I know better than that. Reality is a fight for survival. The strong kill the weak, until only one person is left.

Only _weak_ people try to escape.

* * *

I don't believe it.

She left the door open.

* * *

No alarms, either.

That door was never open before. Another barrier I couldn't cross… Every time I tried to break through, it would sound an alarm, and people would come. And whenever I kill too many people, sooner or later, Sans always shows up.

But she just left it open on the way out. Why?

* * *

What happened here? What was she hiding all this time?

* * *

Wow.

I knew Alphys dabbled in some strange experiments before. But I thought I was her only one.

I'm not the only mistake she made.

Ha. Ha…

No wonder you were afraid. Mom.

* * *

Alphys gave determination to other monsters. It did terrible things to them. I don't know _exactly_ what, but it was so awful that she hid them in the lab so nobody would know what she had done. That's what happened to all the monsters who got sent to her lab. She turned them into freaks.

They're gone now. She must have let them out so they could follow the others out of the Underground. I wonder what the other monsters thought when they found out what she did.

It looks like she abandoned everything else. Including a curious machine she used to extract determination.

That's where she got it from. She must have sucked it out of the other humans when they died.

She sucked the determination out of Chara's corpse.

That's why Chara never came back. Alphys took away their determination.

Alphys killed my best friend.

And Asgore let her do it.

* * *

I've scoured the lab. That's all I can find. Alphys knows how to extract determination from a human and inject it into something else. And that's about it.

This doesn't help at all. I already have determination, and since nobody else here has any determination to compete with mine, I don't need more of it.

Unless having more determination can help me reset further back.

Maybe, if I'm determined enough, I could reset to before I let go of those souls, and stayed as strong as I was before I turned back into a flower. Or maybe I could even reset to the time before my death, and make things the way they used to be.

I could be with Chara again. And Mom and Dad. I don't remember what it was like, but I know it was good.

* * *

And if not… maybe I can use to the machine to _get rid of_ my determination instead.

I've tried so many times to die, but every time, I come back. The determination Alphys gave me never lets me die, even when I want to. It's not like a human's determination, where you can actually let go.

If I got rid of my determination, I could finally go to sleep.

* * *

The DT extractor says it has some determination left. She must have stopped experimenting before she ran out.

I turn the thing on. It responds, but I don't know if it would actually work. I'm the only thing to test it on, and I'm not ready to let go of my determination just yet. Not until I know for sure that I don't have any other choices.

* * *

I don't fully understand how the machine works, but I've put the things together. It's got the right components in place, according to Alphys' designs, and it isn't displaying any problems. The DT injector works, too. I can increase my determination or get rid of. Either is possible.

Unless the machine malfunctions.

* * *

This doesn't change anything.

I need a human soul.

Without a soul, I can't feel love and I'm still just a flower. When I had all the other souls in me, I was the most powerful being in the world… but without it, I'm nothing.

Asriel said love was even stronger than determination. I need love. But you need a soul to feel love, and I don't have one. I'd have to absorb someone else's soul. And that's the problem.

The only souls left in the Underground belong to monsters. And monsters can't absorb the souls of other monsters. The only reason I could absorb monster souls at the barrier was because I had six human souls as well.

I need a human soul. Nothing else would work. But all the exits to the Underground are sealed. Asriel closed the last exit.

No more humans are going to come down here.

* * *

There are still some human _bodies_ left. I've seen them. But none of them have souls left. And the determination was sucked out, too.

They're just corpses now.

* * *

I have another idea.

I could try and bring back Chara. Even though Asriel said not to.

All I have to do is bring their body up to the lab and inject them with determination. That's how Alphys created me; my dust was in that flowerbed.

Asriel is right about one thing. Chara won't be the same. But that doesn't mean Chara will be bad.

I came back very different. I was a lot weaker. And a lot less nice. I know that much.

And I know that Chara wasn't the nicest person. But Chara was _my_ friend, if no one else's.

So does that mean Chara would come back nicer, because people come back as opposites?

Or does that mean Chara would come back less nice, because that's what happened to me?

And if Chara doesn't have their soul anymore, would they be the same person?

Or would there just be two Floweys, trapped in the Underground forever?

* * *

And if there are two Floweys… would we be friends?

* * *

I go to the Ruins and dig up their coffin. Their mummified body lies inside, cold and dry.

* * *

You were the only one who understood, Chara. The only one I could trust.

You were right. I shouldn't have resisted. We should have destroyed those humans who attacked us, and taken their souls. It was stupid not to fight back.

We could have grown more powerful than anything else in the world. We could still be together.

If we took over the universe, things would finally be okay.


	5. Chapter 5: Sans' Secret

This is a dead end. Determination isn't enough to solve the problem. Alphys' secret isn't much help.

What's left besides Sans' room? That's the only other place I've never been able to penetrate. I've already been everywhere else. And Sans is the only person I've never been able to _get_.

* * *

Things I know about Sans:

He's a skeleton. Obviously.

He's the laziest monster in the Underground.

He's the most dangerous monster in the Underground.

He can predict things that nobody could know without resetting.

He can't reset.

He can teleport, or something like it.

He knows if you reset, and how many times.

He loves jokes.

He loves Papyrus.

He won't _stop_ you from killing Papyrus. Or anyone else.

* * *

This isn't helping, either. This is all old news.

What bothers me most is that Sans could easily control this entire world if he wanted to. He has the power. I've seen it. But he just sits around and cracks bad jokes. Why?

Imagine that. Having power and never wanting to use it. I guess that's what it's like to be Frisk.

* * *

Let's move on to the Core. There's nothing for me in the lab. Not unless I want to bring back a soulless Chara. And I'm not sure I should.

* * *

The Core.

I don't normally spend much time here. It's a pain to go anywhere that doesn't have soil in it. The heat is awful. And I've caught fire more than once here. Not a fun way to die.

The Core powers the Underground using magma. They just send steam down to the magma, bring it back after it's heated up, and then use the steam to heat up isobutane, which spins a turbine to create electricity. It's the only reason there's any light down here, besides those glowing crystals they used back in the early days.

It's also the only reason we have any weather out in Snowdin. The power plant takes lot of heat out of the ground, and the extra heat gets pumped out into Empty Land. That's where all the wind comes from, and that's why we have clouds and weather in Snowdin and Farmland.

The funny thing about the Core is that nobody knows who actually built it. We know the previous Royal Scientist, before Alphys, was the architect, but who was that? Asgore somehow doesn't know… even though he hired them.

* * *

The Core is one of the places where Sans tends to show up unannounced. I always thought it was because he was afraid somebody (that is, little old me) would tamper with the Core and shut down the Underground. But now I think there's a different reason.

The Core has some big machines in it. Maybe big enough to break open Sans' secret room.

* * *

I barely got out with my life. Sans wasn't the only one protecting this place. Alphys has lasers and lightning bolts everywhere. I never learned how to dodge them… I used to have Alphys disable the defenses when I wanted to look around. This is going to take time.

I should probably start studying this journal. I might have to re-write the whole thing, if I die in an accident here. The journal won't be around if I reset.

* * *

Flowey's Journal, Part 2:

All right. I think I have everything written back down. Even the stupid parts. I have the rest of eternity to work on this. I can afford the extra time, if it helps me remember.

So many resets. This place is a death trap. No wonder Alphys built robots to run the Core. It kills anybody else.

I've got a new weapon… some strange laser beam. It's pretty impressive. If this doesn't open up Sans' room, I don't know what will.

* * *

I found that Temmie again. It would be fun to try out the new machine against it. But it only has so much energy, and Sans' room is more important.

* * *

IT WORKED! It worked it worked it worked! Finally!

I'm waiting for the fire to go out. It's taking its time.

* * *

Sans' room. What a disappointment.

Old socks. A treadmill he probably never uses. A messed-up bed. And a little tornado full of trash, for some reason.

So _this_ is the secret! A tiny tornado! Golly! I sure am glad I found this!

I don't believe this. He HAS to be hiding something here.

* * *

A key.

This had better open the door at the back. Because if this is a key to the room I just broke into, I'm going to be furious.


	6. Chapter 6: The Truth

This _is_ the key to the back. Finally, I have a way to open the last big secret remaining in this world.

What a happy day! I am so happy I can't stand it. Now all I have to do is open the door.

What? Have I opened the door yet?

No, not yet.

What? How do I know this is the right key…?

And why haven't I opened the door yet?

What a good question! And the answer is quite simple.

Because I can't actually _open_ the door with this key.

Why not?

Oh, that's easy.

Because the door DODGED THE KEY

* * *

I don't believe this. I don't believe this at all.

Did he see this coming? _Did that sniggering dolt put this here just to mess with me?_

It's always the same! Another stupid trick! He just wants to see me suffer!

I've put up with enough! I've fallen for enough of his pranks! Does he think this is _funny_?

Oh, Sans. Forget about Frisk. I can deal with them later. At least Frisk wasn't trying to hurt me.

But YOU…

No, you couldn't get enough of this. You're probably laughing right now, aren't you?

* * *

Hey, Sans! Can you hear this?

Guess what?

 _I'm going to murder your brother. I'm going to make him cry_.

Right in front of you. Over and over. I'll erase every memory in that thick skull of yours! Every time, it will hurt as bad as the first! I won't let you get used to this! I won't let you lose hope! I'll dangle it in front of you and snatch it away! I will break you! I will crush you! I will kill everyone you love!

Do you hear me, Sans? Do you know what I'm going to do?

You're not getting away with this, Sans. I am going to come for you.

This time, I'm not going to give up. You can make me reset a thousand times, but I won't stop. I will grind you down until I beat you.

 _I am going to wipe that smile off your face. You will never be happy again!_

* * *

Ha. Ha.

Wow.

I actually felt something, for once.

Not rage. I've always felt that.

But _hope_.

You are going to be so much fun to torment, Sans. Seeing you cry will feel _so_ good.

* * *

Wow. I can't stop laughing.

You were right, Sans. This _is_ funny.

This is going to be a blast.

* * *

Success! Finally!

It took two days, but I finally got that door to hold still. It couldn't dodge the key forever… maybe Sans can't, either. The door is open.

If this kills me, Sans…

No, I can't think of anything worse to do to you.

Go ahead and prank me. I'm as angry as I'm ever going to get.

* * *

This hurts. This hurts so much.

I found a secret, all right. But it's so much less than I wanted, than I hoped for. I thought this would tell me exactly what was going on with Sans. But it's just one more stupid puzzle!

At least I know he's not messing with me. If this was a prank, he'd have put some message here mocking me. But none of these things seem like a prank.

A picture of some people I don't know.

A badge.

Some notes written in gibberish.

And a busted machine.

There's definitely a secret here. _Something_ here is important. I'm sure of it.

But I thought there would be so much more… this is so disappointing. I want to cry.

It took so long. So long, Chara. I tried so hard.

This is the best we have.

This

* * *

I need to pull myself together. It doesn't matter if there's not much. Anything is better than nothing. No reason to cry because I want more.

I just need to calm down and figure out what it means.

* * *

I'm stumped.

I don't even know why Sans tried to hide this. It doesn't tell me anything about how to beat him. It doesn't show anything embarrassing about him, either. There's no reason for this to be so secret. He's the only one who knows what it means, I'm sure.

Well… I have the rest of eternity to figure it out.

I just have to be patient. I just have to stay calm.

* * *

I don't have words to describe what I'm feeling right now.

I figured it out. This is the funniest thing I have _ever_ seen.

"Don't forget"

Sans! You pathetic IDIOT!

* * *

Okay. I've finally pulled myself together.

I have never laughed so much in my whole life. I am going to have so much fun rubbing this in Sans' face. This is the greatest weapon I've ever found. This is going to hurt him so bad.

 _Sans used to have a time machine._

That's how he knows about resetting. That's how he learned how to predict things.

This machine has been busted for a long time now. At first, I thought he had sabotaged it to prevent me from using it. But he's been trying to fix this contraption.

His time traveling days are over. But apparently he traveled a lot. He has no determination, but he's seen so many timelines that he can _guess_ the future, even if he can't see it. Almost like determination, but not quite good enough. That's why he's so strong.

That's not the only thing, though. I don't have all the details, but I think I know why he's been keeping this a secret.

Sans used to have some family or friends besides Papyrus.

Then they got into danger, and he tried to save them.

But he FAILED.

* * *

This is why he kept everything so secret. He wanted to hide his shame.

Imagine it. Sans saw his family die-or whoever it was that he used to know. He started up the time machine and rescued them… but some human reset it and killed his family again.

Sans went back in time, again and again and again, and every time he tried to save the people he loved… the enemy just killed them again. He was powerless!

I just wish I knew how it happened. I wish I could have seen it. This would be so much better if I knew the details.

Killing Papyrus is an even better idea than I thought. No wonder it crushed him so much when I did it before. No wonder he hesitated so much to fight back.

 _He didn't want to admit he was powerless to stop me_.

I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

But this is great. This is perfect. I couldn't ask for a better secret than this.

I have the same time machine he used against me. All I have to do is figure out how to fix it.

With this machine and my determination, I will unstoppable. I could reset _everything_.

I could even go back to the beginning of time, and re-create the world the way I like it. Everything would be under my control.

Sans has been trying to fix it for years, so it may take some time. But I have all the time in the world.


	7. Chapter 7: Chara Awakens

Flowey's Journal, Part 78:

I guess this is it.

This is the part where everything ends.

I'm not even going to bother copying the notes I took. Every journal I wrote after the second one was a complete waste of time.

Sans would never have fixed that machine. Nobody can ever fix that machine.

There are 14 parts that are completely broken beyond all repair. Fourteen. Every single one of them needs to be fixed for the machine to work. You need all 14.

I guess you could fix 12 of the parts. If you had components that don't exist anywhere in the Underground. But the other two are hopeless, even if I got out.

The destruction of the time machine didn't just break those two components. It permanently rendered it impossible for any timeline to create either one. To get those components back, I'd have to use the time machine. To use the time machine, I'd have to get those components back.

Not even determination will let that happen. _All_ timelines have suffered the same damage.

I don't know what happened to this machine, but whoever was responsible didn't just destroy the Flat Chip and Bronze Hoop Panel. They created a universe in which _neither of those things could ever exist_.

Ever.

* * *

I've gone everywhere in this world.

There isn't a single tiny hole leading to the surface.

There isn't a single corner of the Underground I have not seen.

I know how every machine works.

I know every remaining monster by name.

I know every tree, rock, seed, gear, and sheet of paper in this world.

I know everything there is to know.

It's over.

* * *

There's only one thing left to do. I've been putting it off for so long. I'd put it off a little longer, but it's the only thing I have not tried.

This might be the worst idea I've ever had. The effects will be irreversible, I'm sure. It could destroy me. It could destroy everything.

The pain? Unimaginable.

The duration? Forever.

But this is the only thing I haven't tried yet. And I have to try. I have to know. Even if I regret this decision forever.

This is all that's left.

* * *

This might be the last entry in this journal. If I'm lucky, I won't need my memory anymore. If I'm not lucky, I won't even have it.

Let's hope everything is okay.

Asriel Dreamer

202X

* * *

"Chara? Chara, can you hear me?"

I touch their forehead.

"Chara?"

They stir.

"Chara! Chara, can you…"

Chara sits up, eyes still closed.

"Chara… it's me… Your best friend."

They open their eyes.

Empty. A little red glow is all that's left.

"Who are you?" They ask.

"It's Asriel." I say. "I… I'm a flower now."

They look around.

"What happened?"

"A lot happened, Chara. A lot."

They climb off the table. They look a little stiff.

"Are you all right?" I ask.

"What happened to my body?"

"You died." I say. "But I brought you back… Alphys took away your determination… she used it for experiments. I put it back into you. So you'd get up. So we could be together again."

"My hands…"

"Your body didn't stay the same." I say. "It... rotted a little, but-"

"I'm so gray… This isn't my body."

"Of course it is. It's just…"

"No, no. This isn't my body."

They stagger away. I follow after.

"I know it's not what it used to be, but…"

They stop in front of a mirror.

"Chara…"

"No… no." They say. "No, that's… that's not right. This can't…"

"It's… it's better than being dead, though, right?"

They glance back at me.

"Why did you do this?" They ask.

I look at the floor.

"I was alone."

"I don't understand." They say. "We were in the same body when we died. How did we come apart?"

"That's the thing… neither of us has a soul anymore." I say. "I came back when Alphys tried to give determination to a flower, to see what would happen. My dust got mixed in, so I came back as a flower. The determination let me live again. I thought I could do the same thing with you. I wanted to bring you back, even if… if neither of us has a soul anymore."

"This doesn't feel right." They say. "No soul at all?"

"We might be able to get you a new one." I say. "I've done some reading, and I think you might be able to absorb a monster's soul. It's not supposed to be possible for humans to do that, but I think it's different now that your soul is gone. I've tried myself and it hasn't worked, but I've gotten close. Maybe you can do it."

"Wouldn't that kill the monster, though?"

"Yes."

"And you don't mind?" They ask.

"No." I say. "Not anymore. A lot has changed."

"Whose soul do I take?"

"There are 14 left." I say. "You could take all of them if you want."

"Only 14 left?" They ask. "What happened to the others?"

"They got through the barrier." I say.

"How?"

* * *

I tell them the whole story. From the second human to Frisk, from Alphys injecting me with determination, to me injecting Chara.

When I'm done, they just sit there.

"So…"

Silence.

"Chara? Are you-"

"You did the same to me." They say. "I don't believe it."

"What?"

"This is your own little hell… and you brought me here to keep you company?"

"Well… yeah." I say. "You're the only one who's any fun to be with, Chara. Everyone else… it's not the same."

"Hey… no hard feelings."

They smile at me. It doesn't look the same as it used to, but I smile back anyway.

"Let's get you a soul." I say.

* * *

We start hunting for monsters. When we find the first one, I pin it down and tell Chara what to do. It's kind of complicated; Alphys' notes were really confusing.

Eventually, the monster stops moving and turns to dust. Chara stands up.

"It... it worked." They say. "I can feel its soul."

"Yes! Let's find the next one."

* * *

Alphys was right. There _was_ a loophole. A human can take over a monster's soul if it doesn't have a soul of its own. The way you do it is kind of like how I absorbed those monster souls back when Frisk was here; I could only do it because I had human souls myself. Something about humans makes them stronger than monsters, but that fullness also makes it hard for them to absorb any more souls.

I take Chara around the Underground. They absorb every soul.

* * *

I see the color return to their cheeks. It's like they're alive again. Their voice, their skin, their smile… everything goes back to normal.

The only thing that doesn't change are Chara's eyes.

* * *

"Chara?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for being my friend."

Chara turns their head.

"We make a good team." They say.


	8. Chapter 8: Serial Murderer

Flowey's Journal, Part 79:

I don't really need a journal anymore, but I want to write this down.

I am so happy. Finally, things are okay.

I can spend every day with Chara. Chara is just like they always were. Full of energy. Always happy. They always have a new idea, a new thing to do. A new game.

Today we spent hours making snow sculptures and tearing them down. I chased them in a snowmobile all the way from Snowdin to the Ruins, and carried them back when they were tired. But after they had a couple cinnamon buns they were ready to run around again. My face still hurts from all the snow and the wind, but it's worth it. When it got dark, we holed up at the inn. They held me close and warmed me up.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow's going to be another great day.

I can't believe it.

Chara is finally back.

* * *

Down the mountain! To our deaths!

Back on our feet! With determination!

This is incredible. I never thought of doing this before. Jumping off of a cliff! It's terrifying! I loved it! We did it six times today. It only hurts for a second, and then we're back on our feet at the top of the cliff, ready to jump off again.

* * *

Chara starts rolling up another snowball.

"How big do you think we can make one?" I ask.

"Big as the moon." They say. "Twice as round, and thrice as white!"

"What do you think the moon looks like on the surface?"

Chara stops.

"Like this." They say, patting the snowball. "It's just like this."

They keep rolling it up.

"What about the sun?" I ask.

"I don't know."

"Yellow snow?"

"Nah. Better than that." They say. "Maybe… honey! Like a giant ball of honey!"

"Yeah."

They start rolling faster, an even bigger smile on their face.

"Your cheeks are red." I say.

"Lemme see yours."

They lift me into the air and look up at me.

"Still white and yellow!" They say.

"I wish I had my old body back."

"I like this one." They say.

"But we can't wrestle anymore." I say. "I'm too small."

The smile vanishes.

It comes right back.

Chara hurls me into the sky.

"Chara!"

"Don't worry; I'll catch you!"

They catch me. They're beaming.

"Who cares if we can't wrestle?" They ask. "Now you can _fly_!"

I laugh.

"See? It's not so bad." They say.

"Chara. Guess what number I'm thinking of."

"Hm… Forty billion and seven." They say. "Wait. Four. Wait. Three. Wait… Forty billion and six!"

"Eight."

"Dang! I was so close!" They say.

"Do you know why I asked?"

"Why?"

"I'm just… I'm just glad I don't know what you're going to say." I say. "I spent so much time with those people… I got so tired of hearing the same old things. Everything is new again…"

"Asriel… Come on, don't cry. Be happy! Look! The snowball! The size of the moon!"

They set me down and start rolling up the snowball again. I watch. It grows and grows, until it's up to their chin.

"I think it's ready."

Chara picks me up and puts me on their shoulder. They push the snowball out to the ledge. It's really heavy. Chara is struggling.

They finally manage to shove it off the cliff. We watch it tumble down into the abyss.

"Wow."

"What next?" They ask.

"I don't know."

They throw me into the air again. I laugh, and they throw me again, and again, and again. I keep laughing.

Then the wind picks up when I'm in the air. I drift over to the ledge.

I stop laughing.

"Hey! Chara!"

Just as I'm about to fall off the cliff, Chara lunges and grabs me with one hand. They pull me back up.

We catch our breath. That was close.

"You're not going anywhere." They say.

"Thanks."

We look at each other.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Asks Chara.

"I'm just happy." I say. "I haven't-"

"You're so _mushy_!" They say, squeezing me.

"I can't help it. I missed you."

"Aw… I missed you, too."

"Can we go inside?" I ask. "It's kind of cold, and-"

"To the library!" They shout. "We have books to ignore!"

* * *

We snatch a blanket from the inn and some cinnamon buns from the shop and curl up in a corner of the library. Chara hasn't done all of the puzzles here, so I take out the ones they haven't seen. I watch them scribble away.

Chara's eyes have come back. Only a tiny red glow lingers in their irises.

Chara was always so pretty. I used to draw lots of pictures of them. I was never very good, but Chara liked them.

The little nose. The big bright eyes. Dozens of smiles, and they're never quite the same. Smiles and smirks and grins and other things I don't have names for. They were always really infectious.

I like their long hair, too. It's very soft. Like Mom and Dad's. Or mine.

Chara ruffled my fur all the time. Mom always complained that every time I came home I looked like a mess. Dad always picked our side, and he'd tell the biggest lies to help us out.

"Don't you know, Tori? That's the newest style!"

"They were just running through Hotland. All that electricity makes your fur stand on end."

"No, it was always like that. Just like that mud on his face."

"Tori, that's not our son."

I should make us some butterscotch pie. And find some chocolate for Chara. There are so many things we can do. I don't know where to start.

"Asriel."

I look up. Chara is folding up a sheet of paper.

"I've got a present!" They sing.

They hand it to me. I unfold it.

I groan.

"Chara, you know I hate jumble."

"This one is different." They say. "Look at it."

I sigh. I never liked Chara's anagrams. I don't like how they spelled the family name. Mom only liked it because she didn't know what it meant.

I read it. They already put the solution at the bottom, and circled it.

"ASRIEL DREAMER. RE-DREAM, ASRIEL, SERIAL DREAMER.

REAL DREAM, ARISE."

I smile.

"I still don't like anagrams." I say.

"It fits." Says Chara. "We do whatever we want, just like in a dream. But it's a _real_ dream. And we reset the dream and start over… we _re_ -dream. We're serial dreamers, Asriel. Serial dreamers."

"Hm."

"Are you still mad about the serial murderer joke?" They ask.

"It wasn't funny."

"I'm sorry! I didn't think it would bother you."

I set down the paper. I look away.

"It _still_ bothers you?" They ask. "We just killed 14 monsters! You said you didn't care anymore."

"At first I was mad because it was such an awful name." I say. "And after I became a flower… it… it felt too _true_. I didn't like it."

"Serial dreamer." They say, smiling.

"I still don't like it." I say. "I know you're trying to make it sound better, but I just like Asriel Dreamer. That's what I want it to be."

"Why not Flowey?"

"I don't want to be a flower." I say. "And I don't want the name."

"Asriel..."

They pick me up and sit me in their lap.

"I _like_ flowers." They say.

They put their nose to my forehead and breathe in.

"You smell nice." They murmur.

I lift up my head and give them a kiss. They close their eyes and kiss me back.

We break apart… sooner than I wanted.

Chara smiles at me. An innocent smile. I feel confused. What just happened?

"Where are the cinnamon buns?"

Chara grabs the bag and starts stuffing their face, ignoring me.

Something doesn't feel right. That kiss was different, somehow. But I don't think Chara noticed.

I kiss Chara again before they go to sleep. They smile and pull me under the blanket. They hold me close, my face just under theirs.

"Yeah. You smell nice."

* * *

For the first time, I think I want to be a flower.


	9. Chapter 9: Flowey's Love

It's not like I'm in love with Chara. It's not that dorky goofy kind of love in Alphys' comics. It's not how I felt about Mom or Dad, either. And without a soul, I shouldn't be able to feel any love at all.

But there's something there. There's something special.

Is this what I'm looking for? Is this what will keep me happy down here? Is this the answer?

I want to talk to Chara about it. But I'm not sure what they'll say. What if they think it's weird? What if they don't like it?

I don't know what to do. It's not like I can just reset if I make a mistake and say the wrong thing. Chara will remember.

I wonder how they feel about me.

* * *

The next couple of days, I can't think about anything else. It makes it hard to have fun… I've got too much stuff on my mind.

Eventually, Chara notices.

"What's up, Asriel?" They ask. "You seem a little down."

This is going to be hard.

"Chara… I wanted to talk about the kiss."

They smile. Another innocent smile. They have no idea.

"Why? Did I smell nice?" They ask.

I inch over to them. They kiss me again.

When they let go, I feel a little dizzy.

"Well?" They ask.

"Yeah… you smell nice."

"Good."

Silence.

"What's going on?" They ask.

"I don't know." I say. "I just really like you and I like that you kissed me. It's nice. But… I don't think you feel the same way."

"Of course I do."

"It's not the same thing." I say. "It was a really big deal to me… I still can't stop thinking about. I don't think you felt it like I did."

They think.

"No, I don't think I feel the same way." They say. "Is that bad?"

"Just seems a little sad."

"Don't be sad, Asriel." They say.

They give me another peck.

"Everything is okay." They say. "Right?"

"I…"

"What?"

"I love you, Chara."

"I love you, too." They say.

"But…"

They roll their eyes.

"Listen." They say. "Are you happy I'm around?"

"Yes. Of course."

"And I'm happy _you're_ around." They say. "Are you glad that we're friends?"

"Yeah."

"Me, too." They say. "Do you like playing with me?"

"Yes."

"And I like playing with you. Would you like a kiss?"

"Y-yeah."

"Me, too!"

They kiss me again.

They do smell nice.

"Then we _do_ feel the same." They say. "So. Are you ready to stop feeling weird and go out to play?"

"Um… okay."

"Great!"

* * *

Things still feel a little weird now and then, but I get used to it. Chara was right. Things are okay.

I like this.

It doesn't hurt anymore. The pain is gone. The boredom is gone. The confusion is gone. All of the bad stuff just went away.

I don't have everything. I'd still like to be a monster again. I miss Chara ruffling my fur. I miss them playing with my ears. And I miss being able to hug them back, with real hands.

But I love this. I love Chara, soul or no. Life is fun again.

And we're safe.

No matter what happens, we can always reset. We can play together forever.

It's perfect.

A good dream.

* * *

"Chara?"

"Yes?"

"I just wanted you to know that I care about you. I want you to know that I love you and I'm happy you're my friend. That's all."

"You took the words out of my mouth." They say.

"I love you." I say. "I always will."

They nuzzle my face.

"You know what we need to do next?" They ask.

"What?"

"I'm going to get you a new body." They say. "That's all we're missing."

"Well… well, thanks, Chara." I say. "That would be great. But how are we going to do that?"

"Don't know." They say. "But we're gonna figure it out. Anything you want, Asriel. I'll make it happen."

"Really?"

"Of course." They say. "I'd do anything for you."


	10. Chapter 10: Chara's LOVE

Dear Asriel,

This is Flowey. It's you!

If you're reading this, but don't remember writing it, it means you've found the clues. Congratulations! I knew you could do it!

If Chara is reading this… please don't. This is private.

* * *

Asriel, if you don't remember writing this, then _Chara has erased your memory_. We were right the first time… Chara is not our friend. Not anymore. Chara is trying to make you into their toy.

That's why they erased your memory. They're trying to control you. Just like we tried to erase Frisk's memory. They're going to torture us, and without our memories, we won't be able to fight back. We won't be able to see it coming.

You have to kill Chara. If you don't, Chara is going to hurt you. And they're not going to stop hurting you, ever. It's "kill or be killed" again.

If you need any proof that this message is from you, and isn't just a trick… well, I have your memories. Chara doesn't. You know _you_ wrote this message because only you and Frisk know what these things mean:

"RUN. INTO. THE. friendliness pellets"

"Do you really think I've learned anything from this?"

"If you 'win,' you won't want to 'play' with me anymore."

"STOP doing this… AND JUST LET ME WIN!"

"I understand if you hate me."

"I don't want to let go…"

If you don't remember these things… then Chara has even erased your memories of being a flower. But I hope you'll still believe this message anyway, because this is really important. You can't let Chara win.

I know how much you love Chara. I do, too. And I really, really hope you never see this message. Because I want things to be okay. I want to stay friends with Chara. And I'm going to do the best I can to make things okay.

But if you do see this… we don't have a choice. We have to kill Chara. It's our only escape. Just don't let Chara know what you're up to. Don't ever let them see this message, or else they'll know what's going on.

Stay determined, Asriel. And don't let anyone push you around.

Sincerely,

YOU

* * *

Dear Asriel,

… but nobody came.

LOVE,

CHARA.

* * *

"Hey, Asriel!"

"What?"

"Come on over here… I found something."

* * *

"Chara… I-"

"This is a prank, right?" They ask. "You didn't really mean this, right?"

"I… I, I don't know."

"You don't know? Oh, is that because I erased your memory?"

"N-no…"

"You remember writing this. They say. "This isn't somebody pulling a prank on us. _You_ wrote this. This is all you."

"Chara-"

"You thought I was going to _hurt_ you." They say.

"Chara, I was afraid. I wasn't sure." I say.

"I thought we were friends."

"We _are_ friends!" I say.

"You see this part here? 'Chara is not our friend. Not anymore. Chara is trying to make you into their toy.'"

"So? I was afraid!" I cry. "I didn't even remember who you were when I wrote that! I was confused! I was worried! Asriel told me I should be afraid of you! I thought-"

" _You_ are Asriel." They say. " _You_ said you should be afraid of me."

"You don't understand… It was different. It was a different time."

"You're right. I _don't_ understand." They say. "I thought we trusted each other. I thought we shared something special."

"We-"

"But you had to hide a secret message to yourself, just because you thought I would hurt you."

"I…"

Chara folds their arms.

" _I'm sorry!_ " I wail. "I didn't know it would be like this! I was afraid it would be bad! I didn't know for sure we'd get along… Not until now."

"Wait."

Their expression softens.

"So… so you changed your mind?" They ask. "You changed your mind after I came back."

"Yeah." I breathe. "Yeah."

Chara gets closer. I relax.

Then I see it coming. The scary face. I inch away.

"Ch-chara?"

"You changed your mind?" They ask, suddenly very quiet. "You don't think I'm a threat anymore?"

"Yes. Yes! I swear."

They nod.

"Then tell me something." They say. "If you didn't think you needed that message anymore…"

They get in my face.

"… why didn't you erase it, Flowey?"


	11. Chapter 11: Cold Iron

"I promise, Chara. I swear I wasn't going to hurt you."

I don't believe you.

"You know we're friends… we grew up together. I was the one who found you. I…"

You were the one who brought me back.

"Right."

To keep you company.

"Right."

But if we didn't get along…

"Chara…"

You would have murdered me.

"I wouldn't! Chara, I love you!"

You had a plan.

"That was… that wasn't…"

ASRIEL

DON'T YOU LOVE ME

"Of course I love you!"

I LOVE YOU TOO

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

"Chara? Chara!"

DON'T WORRY ASRIEL

I'LL ALWAYS BRING YOU BACK

"Stop! Stop!"

WE MAKE A GOOD TEAM

* * *

 _chara… please_

 _please_

* * *

"How are you feeling, Flowey?"

"Chara… I'm sorry… I'm sorry."

"Does it hurt?"

He sinks down.

"You didn't answer me, Flowey." I say. "I asked you a question and you didn't answer."

"Yes. It hurts."

"It's a pity we can't get along." I say.

"We can get along. We…"

I stick him again. He cries.

I twist it.

"Stop… please…"

"I'm sorry, Asriel." I say. "But I have to make sure I can trust you… And I can't just forget about it if you do something bad."

He fires a bullet. Just one. It splashes against my face like water. Pitiful.

"I can forgive you." I say. "But you have to understand… you have to be nice to me, Asriel. Really nice. Then I can trust you again."

"N-nice?"

I give him the knife.

"Cut off your petals." I say. "One by one."

"But…"

" _Show_ me you want to be friends."

"I do."

"Prove it." I say. "I said I'd do _anything_ for you, Asriel…"

"But… Chara-"

WOULDN'T YOU DO ANYTHING FOR ME

* * *

He cuts off the first petal. He's already crying.

"Don't feel bad, Asriel." I say. "Every petal means I'm a little closer to forgiving you. Then we can be friends again. Okay? Everything will be okay."

"It hurts, Chara."

"I know, I know."

I kiss him.

"But I'll make it better." I say. "I'll reset and you'll have all of your petals back. Good as new."

I touch one of the petals.

"This one." I say. "This one is next."

"Please forgive me." He croaks.

"I will, I will." I say.

I guide the blade to the petal.

"Cut it."

He cuts it, sobbing all the way.

"See? That wasn't so bad."

I take the petal from the ground and eat it.

"Four more to go."

* * *

Wow. He looks so pathetic without his petals.

He lies there, whimpering. Prone.

"There we go."

I take the blade from the ground.

"Now I just have to reset." I say. "You're such a good partner, Flowey."

"Asriel." He mumbles. "It's Asriel."

Maybe I should correct him. No, I'll let it slide.

I sink the blade into his mouth. He gags.

"Why don't _you_ reset this time?" I ask. "Just to show me you're serious."

So many tears. He was always the crybaby.

I kiss his forehead.

"Hm. You smell so _nice_ today, Flowey."

I twist it again. His face splits in half.

* * *

He took us to Waterfall. Good.

I turn to him. He's shaking.

"For a moment I thought you were going to try and erase my memories." I say. "I thought you might reset to before I saw that message… I'm glad you didn't."

I squeeze his petals. He cringes.

"Now it will be that much easier to forgive you." I say. "But we're not quite done yet."

He won't meet my gaze. Good.

"Okay." He says. "What's next?"

I give back the knife.

"Again?"

"Again."

* * *

I count them.

He loves me

He loves me not

He loves me

He loves me not

He loves me

He loves me not

...No, that can't be right.

I'd better start over.

He loves me

He loves me not

He loves me

He loves me not

He loves me

He loves me not

...How odd.

Let's try that again.

* * *

Flower after flower losing petal after petal

Hour after hour under flashing iron metal

* * *

"I can't do this anymore… I just can't."

"You have to, Asriel. It's the only way we can be friends again."

"I don't want to… It hurts."

I sigh.

"I suppose I was wrong to trust you." I say. "But don't worry."

I take the knife.

"I'll do it for you."

"Please… please don't hurt me, Chara."

I smile.

He makes it so easy.


	12. Chapter 12: Flowey's New Body

I wonder how long it will take for him to realize what's going on. Does he really think anything has changed?

I'll let up eventually. When it gets boring. Getting forgiveness was just an excuse to try out the knife.

That message of his had an excellent idea. If I can erase his memories, I could do whatever I wanted to him. Then I could just reset him and he'd be as happy and innocent as ever. I could torture him and we'd still be friends.

Until then, let's see how far I can push him.

* * *

Ooh, he's getting petulant. I think he's starting to figure it out. But whenever I sweet talk him and take a day off to play and make up, he seems to simmer down.

How long before it hits him…?

* * *

"Chara."

He gets up, holding his face together with a leaf.

"This has to end." He says.

"Flowey, we're almost there. You've come so far."

"I'm tired." He says. "I'm really tired. Make up your mind. Are we friends or not?"

"Why don't we take another break?" I ask.

" _Enough breaks! Enough stalling!_ "

He's fuming. I act innocent.

"I'm not dragging this out." I say. "I'm just trying not to overwhelm you."

"Liar." He says. "I thought you'd get tired of this. But it's not happening. I'm not stupid, Chara."

Really?

"We've done this enough." He says, breathing hard.

Then the anger fades from his eyes.

"You _know_ how I feel about you." He pleads. "Let's go back to the way things were. I want to be friends again."

I lower the knife. This game has been getting boring anyway. There's no harm in letting it go.

"You're right." I say.

I drop the knife.

"You've been patient." I say. "I appreciate it. I forgive you."

"Thanks."

"Let's reset." I say. "You're a mess."

I pick him up.

"Off the mountain, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

We reset one more time, and erase the message he left himself. I stop using the knife and we start playing again. I'd been trying to drag it out, waiting to see when he'd snap, but cutting off his petals got so repetitive.

I'll play nice for a while.

* * *

It's hard not to smile with Asriel around. He was always happy, but these days he's _really_ happy. At least, once he got over the petal thing. Boy, was he cranky about that!

I like this Asriel. He's fun.

But I also miss that knife. I liked that knife. And Asriel gets nervous whenever it's around.

Maybe that's a good thing. He gets interesting when he's afraid.

* * *

I start drawing us closer to Asgore's place and finding excuses to bring out the knife, just so Asriel can see it. I act like it's not there; I never mention it by name or talk about it. I don't want him to know that I'm trying to scare him.

I also touch his petals more. He cringes when I do.

But he tries to hide it. He doesn't want me to know it bothers him… He must be afraid I'd keep doing it if I knew he didn't like it.

He _does_ think I want to hurt him. So I play extra nice. I kiss him more often and say nice things about him.

He melts in my hands. He's so cute.

* * *

"When are we going to get my body back?" Asks Asriel.

I completely forgot about that.

"Hm… I'm not sure how to do it." I say. "Do you have any ideas?"

"No. The last time I did it, I had souls." He says. "And there are no human souls left."

"Right."

* * *

"Hey." I say. "Why don't we _build_ you a body?"

"Build?"

"Like a fake body. A dummy."

"Okay… But how would I get into it?" He asks.

"Well, you turned into a flower because your dust was on a flower when it got determination." I say. "If we grind you up and put you in a dummy, and then injected it with a little determination, maybe you could take over the body."

"Maybe."

* * *

We piece it together from a lot of things. Some of the trash near Waterfall has some furry stuff for his skin, and we can carve him a skeleton out of wood. Marbles for the eyes, cotton for the flesh, some rocks to give it weight, and fangs carved out of porcelain.

It's awfully hard to make it look and feel right. The paws and ears are easy to get wrong, and even when it looks almost like him, it doesn't _feel_ quite the same.

Maybe I'll get used to it.

"I think it's ready." I say.

He nods.

"Let's take it to the lab."

* * *

I do all the work. I set up the DT extractor, grind up Asriel, extract the determination, and then stuff his remains into the dummy before injecting the determination back in.

But not _all_ of the determination. I leave some inside the machine.

* * *

A few minutes later, the dummy stirs.

"Good morning, Asriel!" I say.

He stands up and looks around. He checks his paws.

"It… it feels a little different." He says.

"Looks right." I say.

"Check the seams."

He stretches. I inspect him.

"Nope. Nothing is loose."

"Great."

"Let's try it out!"

* * *

We go out and run around so he can get used to the new body. Still seems kind of weird, seeing the fake body move, but it's not bad. I kind of like seeing him back in his normal form. It's too bad we didn't have enough fur for his whole body, but his clothes cover the bare patches, so you can't see it.

* * *

We go out to play just like we used to. We tweak his body a little and make it seem more real. Eventually, I can't tell him apart from his old body. This was a good idea. He was so weak and fragile when he was a flower. It's better when he can keep up with me.

Things go back to normal.

For a while.

* * *

This is starting to get boring.

It's been weeks since he got into his new body. I want to try something new. Asriel is great, but there's only one of him… we used to have lots of people to play with.

It's time to make things a little more interesting. When Asriel is napping, I sneak back to the lab and turn on the DT extractor.

I inject myself with all of the determination left. I'll need a lot more determination than he has if I'm going to erase his memories.

I don't plan on hurting him unless I can make him forget about it. I don't want him resenting me. After all, being friends is a lot better than being enemies.

But I've never had a chance to get in a _real_ fight before. I want to see what it's like.

* * *

flowey.

long time no see. if you're reading this… you must have gotten really bored.

hey, congrats. you finally broke in. this place was really well-guarded. but i was sure you'd get it eventually.

welp.

guess you found out what happened. i don't have to spell it out for you, do i?

yeah, that's the machine. have you tried tinkering with it?

don't bother. it's a waste of time.

or go ahead. knock yourself out. it's up to you.

but even if you do… you should probably know something about time travel.

rule number one:

it doesn't matter. ever.

i gave up a long time ago. i tried to help people… tried to fix the world… tried to make things better. but every time i did, somebody just turned back the clock. there was nothing i could do. everything i did got erased. nobody really changes anything.

well…

 _one_ person does.

whoever has the most determination. they make all the rules. they control everything. and if you try to fight them, they'll just reset until they win. sooner or later, they always win. and they only have to win once.

and the more you beat them before then… the madder they get. and when they finally do win…

 _you're gonna have a bad time._

so.

who has the most determination?

search me.

i wish i knew.

anyway… you're probably wondering why i wrote this.

well, if i did this right… you already brought back chara.

chara is with you, aren't they?

i gotta tell ya…

chara isn't actually there.

you're still alone down here.

chara is still dead.

you're just hallucinating.

you finally lost it.

 _you've gone completely insane._

…

heh.

…

nah, i'm just kidding.

you were _always_ insane.

but seriously…

you have _lost your marbles_ , you know.

…get it?

because you have marbles for eyes now?

i kill me.

okay, i'll level with you.

we aren't done.

i've got a bone to pick with you.

so i didn't leave with the others.

i thought i'd _stick_ around…

get it?

…your bones are wooden sticks now.

anyway.

i figured i'd better keep an eye socket on you. so i've been following you around.

i hoped you'd use alphys' machine to get rid of your determination, like Asriel said. but if you're reading this, i guess you didn't. so i'm going to have to do it for you.

now.

you haven't spotted me yet, have you? you're probably wondering where i am.

well… remember when i said chara wasn't really there?

it's true.

that human waiting for you outside…

yeah.

…that's me.

geeeeeeettttt dunked on!

sans

* * *

Asriel comes outside. He looks shaken… and furious.

I give him a smile.

"Find anything new?" I ask.

"That's not true." He murmurs, looking at the ground. "That isn't true."

"How do you figure?" I ask.

"Sans is a monster." He says. "Monsters can't handle determination. Monsters can't absorb monster souls. I've seen you do both."

I roll my eyes.

"Okay, I admit it." I say. "I was just messing with you."

He sighs.

"Don't do that." He says.

"All right, all right." I say. "I'm glad you could tell it was me, though."

I start walking. He follows.

"It wasn't hard." He says. "Sans was smart. But he wasn't _that_ smart. He couldn't have predicted all of that."

"Really? He seemed awfully smart to me." I say.

"Hmph."

"hey asriel." I say.

"Yeah?"

"knock knock."

He sighs again.

"Who's there?" He asks.

"boo."

"Boo who?"

I draw the knife and stab him in the neck.

"you were always the crybaby, asriel."


	13. Chapter 13: Your Best Friend

We appear outside Sans' house when we reset. Five minutes back. With all the determination I took from him, I can control the timeline. I can pick whatever time I want to reset.

Asriel is at the door, but now he knows what lies inside. His business is with me now.

He turns around. I grin.

"hey kiddo."

"You're not Sans." He says. "That's not how Sans fights."

"you're right. i'm chara. your best friend."

"Shut up."

I draw the knife.

"Sans doesn't use a knife!" He snarls.

"of course i… of course he doesn't."

"Why are you pretending to be him?" He asks.

"i'm not pretending to be anybody." I say. "it's just me… chara."

" _Chara doesn't wink!_ "

"what?… am i giving you mixed messages?"

"You're not fooling me, Chara." He says. "I know it's you. You think I'm that stupid?"

"well… yeah." I say. "i mean… your head _is_ full of stuffing, right?"

"I know who you are." He says.

His voice is softer.

"And that's not Sans' style." He says. "Sans gets in your head. But he wouldn't impersonate somebody. He wouldn't pretend to be you for all this time."

"it was worth it, though." I say.

He is _so_ mad. I love it.

"what?" I ask. "was it not worth it for you?"

I walk up and kiss him again.

He doesn't recoil. He just glares at me.

No, he's not fooled. He knows it's not Sans. He'd be grossed out if he thought Sans was kissing him.

I drop the act.

"How do you know it's not me?" I ask.

"You don't know Sans like I do." He says. "Sans is way too lazy to pull off a complicated trick like that. Sans wouldn't spend months pretending to be you. He wouldn't kiss me. That's… that's not him. That's too weird for Sans. And Sans would never use a knife."

I flick it out. I see the woods behind me in the reflection of the blade. Very well polished.

" _You're_ the only one who liked cutting things up." He says.

"You don't know what you're missing." I say, admiring the knife.

"Even the other humans weren't like you." He growls. "They fought monsters, but they didn't enjoy it. They didn't try to _relive_ it. You were the only one who liked it."

"What about you, Flowey?" I ask, twirling the blade. "Serial murderer? I can't think of a single monster who killed another monster, even in self-defense… You enjoyed it, too. We're so alike, Asriel…"

"You're sick." He says. "You made me cut off my petals."

"Serves you right." I say. "You were stupid to fall for it. You think I ever would have forgiven you for that message? I can't trust you at all, Flowey. Sure, we can play around sometimes… but we're going to do it on my terms."

I stop twirling the knife.

"You forgot something." I say. "I was always the one in charge. You were just tagging along. You're my buddy… You're my toy. And when I don't want to play nice, I tear you apart. And when I don't want to play with you at all, _you go in the box, and wait for me to come back!_ "

I see little fires on his fingertips. I thought he only used bullets.

"Come on, Asriel." I say. "You really think you can fight me?"

"You're not the only one with determination." He says. "You can't boss me around."

"I _took_ your determination." I say. "When I was moving you to that body, I extracted your determination and injected myself with it. You only have a tiny bit…"

His expression changes.

"You never even suspected, did you?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter." He says.

"Think about it." I say. "I have more determination than you. I have more souls than you. I have a strong young body… you're made of cotton and wood. Body. Soul. Will… All of them. I have every advantage. Do you really think you can win?"

He hurls a flame at me. I bat it away and rush him.

Face.

Neck.

Stomach.

Stomach.

Stomach.

Stomach.

Neck.

He sinks down, shaking. Whimpering.

"Cheer up, Asriel." I say. "Look on the bright side…"

I kiss his forehead.

"I'm having the time of my life."

I dismember him.

* * *

Back at Sans' house.

"Hey Asriel." I say.

"I have determination, too." He says. "Even if it isn't much. You haven't won."

We clash again. He singes my clothes. I tear him to pieces. This time, I make it slow.

* * *

One more time.

"Hey, Asri-"

He hurls a fire at me. I step to the side. He throws another one, but I smack it away with the knife.

"You're wasting your time." I say.

Another flame. I block it.

"Asriel. I'm trying to speak to you."

The fire comes again. I sidestep the flame and tackle him. I pin him down.

"I can't have you trying to burn me whenever I want to play with you." I say. "I'm going to have to teach you to behave. This is your purpose in life, Asriel. Your purpose is to suffer. Your purpose is to cry."

He struggles. I slice off his hands. It's easy to cut through; I'm just slicing through some cheap knitting.

I put the blade in his mouth.

"Shut up."

He stops crying. Good.

"I created you." I say. "I control you. I am your master. I am your god. You will worship me. You will obey me. If you're good, we can play together. We can have fun. But if you're bad, I will hurt you."

I push the knife through the back of his throat.

" _I will hurt you so much you will never dare to fight back._ "

I remove the blade and shake off the dust. He coughs.

"I'm not like the others." He says. "You can't control me."

I smile.

"You will learn." I say. "You…"

Wait.

"Actually… I have another idea." I say.

I cut off his feet, one by one. He howls. I start dragging him off, my arm around his neck. He tries to scream, but he can't even whisper.

"Hold still." I say. "This is going to be a long trip."

* * *

I take him across the Underground, all the way out to Hotland. I drag him to the lab and toss him in the elevator. I step inside.

"That determination of yours is going to be a problem." I say. "I'm going to get rid of it."

His little marble eyes get wide.

"All determination in this world belongs to me." I say. " _I_ am the lord of this world."

We reach the bottom. I drag him off to the DT extractor. I strap him in.

"Chara? Chara, please… you don't know what this thing does."

"I know exactly what it does." I say. "You showed me."

"But… but-"

I laugh.

"Go ahead." I say. "Tell me why I should let you hold onto that determination, the determination that doesn't even belong to you, because Alphys stole it."

He pleads. He cries. He screams at me. But I don't even listen to the words—I just wanted to hear him beg.

I turn on the machine and start it up. Bit by bit, it takes away his determination.

Soon the machine stops. It's done.

I undo the straps and drag him away. I stuff him in one of the refrigerators and shove the fridge onto its front so he can't get out. I don't want him interfering.

I go back to the machine.

* * *

When the injection is complete, I hop off the table and strut over to the fridge in the other room. I push it over and open it up.

"I win." I say.

"Chara… Chara, we're best friends."

"Of course we are." I say.

I draw the knife.

"And we will _never_ be apart."

* * *

I reset, all the way back to when Asriel first resurrected me.

I sit up. He's already there, back in his old flower body.

Absolutely petrified. Perfect.

"Chara… Ch-chara?"

I stand up.

"Show me to the monsters." I say. "I want my 14 souls back."

He nods. I lead him back to the elevator and press the button. We start to go up.

"I'm sorry I was mean to you." He says. "I won't do it again. I'll be a good friend from now on. I promise."

"Good." I say. "Maybe I'll hold back on your punishment, then."

"Thanks, Chara. You're a good friend."

"I learned from the best." I say.

He smiles weakly. I smile back—a good one, to reward him.

"See? It's better this way." I say.

"Yeah. It's better this way."

* * *

He leads me to the monsters, just like before. I kill them myself. Each soul is a rush. Feels good.

The last one is a Whimsun back at the Ruins, hiding in a corner. I kill it with one swipe.

"That's it." I say. "The last of the last."

I look back at Flowey.

"Chara?" He asks.

"Yes?"

"Can I…"

"What?"

"Do you think you could absorb me, too?" He asks. "Even if I don't have a soul?"

"Why?"

"I don't want to be a flower." He says. "I want to be… I wanna be you."

I think.

"We can try it." I say.

* * *

I bring him home and cradle him in my bed. I hold him close and try to absorb him. It takes a long time. But he says he can feel it happening.

I wonder if this is a trick.

It doesn't matter. I'm already in control. When the flower goes limp, I snuggle up and close my eyes.

* * *

Sure enough, Flowey tries to take over a half hour later, when he thinks I'm asleep. I can feel him reaching across my being, trying to grab at something that doesn't belong to him. But he can't quite touch it.

I'll let him keep trying for a while.

* * *

Finally, I decide to interrupt him.

"Hey, Asriel."

He stops.

"I know what you're doing." I say. "And you may as well give up."

Silence.

"I have everything now." I say. "Including you."

I hear his voice in my head—just a whisper.

"Chara?" He asks. "Can I still stay in you for a little while?"

"Sure."

* * *

It doesn't bother me for him to be inside me, but if he doesn't have a body of his own, we can't play together. When I wake up from my nap, I head out to Snowdin to jump off the cliff.

* * *

I reset back in the lab. When I get up, Flowey has already scurried away.

I look around. Can't see him.

"Don't worry!" I call. "I'm not mad at you for what you did at home. And I'm not going to punish you today, either. Today's going to be fun."

No response. He must have already gone up the elevator.

I follow after. It's a quiet ride up to Alphys' workplace.

"Asriel?"

Still no answer. He's not allowed to run away from me when I'm calling him… I'm going to have to hurt him for this. Just a little.

I step outside into Hotland.

…And then I see green, instead of red.

Everything I can see is shrouded in vines.

Flowey's vines. They took over the lab, the bridges… even far out into the distance, his vines cover the rock.

Hundreds of machine guns hang from the vines.

None of this should be here. It wasn't here when Asriel first brought me back. This isn't right. _I'm_ controlling this timeline. How did he set all of this up without me knowing?

Flowey pops out of the dirt. Smiling at me.

"Asriel? What…"

I've never seen that smile before.

"You IDIOT."

The guns go off, and the world goes black.


	14. Chapter 14: Asriel Returns

I wake up on the table again. Flowey is nowhere in sight.

What just happened to me? What did I just see? How did Flowey reset earlier than I did? I took all of the determination! _That should have given me control of the timeline!_

It can't be because he _existed_ before I did. That's not how this works. Flowey came before Frisk, too but he never could reset to the time before Frisk came here, because Frisk had more determination.

So how can Flowey reset to before _I_ came back, when _I_ have more determination?

I go to the elevator. I need to find out what's going on.

Flowey has control of the timeline, somehow. How am I going to take it back?

 _Ding_.

I step out of the elevator. My hands are shaking. I force them to be still.

Flowey is probably waiting for me outside. I'd better not dawdle. Otherwise he might think he scared me. I stride out the door.

Hotland is covered in vines. Just like before. There's just one difference.

Fourteen monsters hang from vines just outside the lab.

They look at me. I give them the scary face. They freak out.

The vines tighten and stop the monsters from squirming. Flowey pops out of the ground again.

"Howdy!"

"What did you do?" I ask.

That same smile. I don't like this smile.

" _You_ don't have the most determination, Chara." He says. "I do."

All the vines in Hotland begin to shake in unison. The sound of rustling leaves, made deafening.

How am I going to fight him? He's _everywhere_.

The vines begin to settle.

"I only gave you a tiny fraction of my determination." He says. "And I rigged the DT extractor so it wouldn't let you take any more. I know you tried to steal my determination when you moved me into the cotton body… I knew from the beginning."

I scowl.

"I was awake the whole time!" He says, almost bouncing. "Golly… did you really think I'd trust you with something that important?"

How am I going to get out of this? I needed that determination. If he can reset me, he has total control.

I'm going to have be really sweet. I have to get back on his good side.

"There was just one problem." He says, the smile suddenly gone. "If I'm going to get out of this place, or if I want to feel real love again, I need souls… at least one soul. But the only souls down here are monster souls."

He shakes the monsters on the vines. One of them squeals.

"Souls that only _you_ can absorb." He says. "I can't absorb them on my own… I need a human to absorb them. I thought if you absorbed me after you got their souls, I could try and take them away from you. But something went wrong. It didn't work… I can't steal those souls from you."

That explains him asking me to absorb him.

"So." He says. "I need your help. I've re-read all the research Alphys has done on the subject. It seems I need you to _give_ me those souls, of your own free will. I need you to work with me… Will you work with me, Chara?"

"You just killed me." I say. "Two minutes ago."

"You killed _me_ a lot more." He says.

Flowey looks up at the monsters he captured.

"I gathered the monsters before you woke up." He says. "This way I wouldn't have to drag you out to them every time I want you to absorb them."

"Every time?" I ask.

"Well, are you going to say yes?" He asks. "Are you going to give me their souls?"

I fold my arms.

The guns go off.

* * *

Back on the table. I hop off and go up the elevator and outside the lab.

Hotland is still covered in vines. The 14 monsters hang in front of me. Flowey is already there, waiting for me.

"I say 'every time,'" says Flowey, "because I might have to ask you more than once. If you say yes, then you will absorb their souls and then give them to me. But if you say no, then I will kill you. And then I will reset."

I see the guns take aim. I close my eyes.

* * *

The table. Up the elevator. Outside.

Vines again. And Flowey.

"And then I will ask you _again_." He says. "And if you say no again…"

I try to dodge the bullets this time. I can't.

* * *

Back on the table. Now the room is covered in vines, too. Flowey is right next to me. A circle of guns surrounds me.

"…then you will die." Says Flowey. "And I will ask you again. I will kill you again and again and again. And I won't stop _until you do what I say_."

I notice a pair of metal claws hanging from vines on the ceiling. Very sharp.

"You always have a choice." He says. "It's completely up to you. Give me the souls. Or suffer."

I consider my options.

"And don't bother trying to think of a way out." He says. "You can't fight your way out of this. Because I don't have to _let_ you fight back. The next time I reset, the next time I wake you up… I don't even have to give you your whole body back."

* * *

Table. Flowey is right next to me.

I try to sit up.

 _My arms are missing_.

 _My legs are missing_.

I start to howl.

" _Asriel! ASRIEL!_ "

The claws sink into my face and start pulling it apart.

I try to scream. But there's a blade at the back of my throat, choking me. I try to fight back. But I don't have any hands.

It cleaves my face in half. Then the bullets stop the pain.

* * *

Table.

"I can do whatever I want to you," he says, "because I control the world you're born in. You don't even _exist_ in this world until I say so."

The claws are still right above me. They're so sharp. So close to my face.

I'm strapped to the table. I can't move at all.

"Wouldn't you rather play along?" Asks Flowey.

He inches closer.

"Don't we make a good team when we work together?" He asks.

I feel cold.

This can't be right. He can't be stronger than me. No one was ever stronger than me.

* * *

Table.

I can see myself in a mirror. Limbless and naked and riddled with scars.

I want to say "Asriel." But I don't have a mouth. Just a tongue hanging from under my skull.

Wobbling.

* * *

Table.

I feel myself.

I'm in one piece. I'm okay!

I'm not even strapped in. I sit up.

Flowey is sitting in front of me, on the same table. No smile. No nonsense.

"Yes or no." He says. "Those are your choices."

I've been upset with Asriel before. But this isn't just him doing something I don't like… This is a betrayal. I am going to hurt him for this. I am not going to forgive or forget.

But he's right. He's stronger than me, for now. I can't fight him. I have to do what he says. He will hurt me if I don't.

I could fight back, but it wouldn't help. Now is not the time to fight him.

"Yes." I say.

"Good."

He hops off and motions for me to follow him. We go up the elevator to the 14 monsters still hanging on vines outside.

A new vine reaches down and hands me the knife.

"Kill them." Says Flowey.

I get to work.

* * *

I absorb every soul. Flowey thanks me. Still no smile. He's all business.

He tells me how to transfer the souls to him. It's complicated. It takes time for him to explain… He's been hiding a lot of important stuff about souls from me. I didn't think anyone knew this much.

I do what he says. I absorb him and let him take over. And then he leaves my body, taking all the souls with him, back into the pile of dust lying on the warm soil of Hotland.

I sit down and wait.

* * *

The dust begins to move. Shaking slightly, and then rising. It grows tall, and gradually it takes his form.

The monster I know. Fur, fangs, and all. Asriel shakes off the extra dust. He has his old body back. Like he hasn't aged a day.

He opens his eyes.

He touches his body and a smile breaks over his face. He snatches his clothes from a nearby vine and pulls them on.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

He looks back at me, his mouth slightly open.

His eyes are glistening. Gazing out into the distance. Into another world.

"Different." He murmurs.

He touches the locket.

"I feel so different."


	15. Chapter 15: A New God

Chara is looking up at me. I look back at them, confused.

What am I feeling?

What happened to the anger?

I feel calm.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I actually feel calm.

Something has changed. Something very big.

I feel power at my fingertips. It's nothing like what I felt before the Underground went empty. But it's so much more than what I had.

I try out a new spell. A little flame appears in my hand and flutters away.

It turns into a butterfly. Blue and green.

Shimmering.

"Chara."

"Yes?"

"It's time." I say.

"Time for what?"

"Time to reset." I say. "To go back to the beginning."

"Which beginning?"

"Shh… just watch."

I raise my hands and fill the air with butterflies. Hotland glows with color.

A rainbow floods the entire Underground, and I turn back the clock.

* * *

All the way back to the start. Back at the Ruins, where I first wrote to myself.

"I have to keep you away from EVERYONE.

I can't let you get out EVER."

So much suffering has happened. So much has gone wrong.

"Good luck. I'm cheering you on, from the past."

It's the first day of my isolation. But this time is different.

I go out in search of the first Froggit near Mom's house.

* * *

It's not there. Just a pile of dust. I was afraid of this.

I hoped they would still be here. But their souls are in my body now, and they can't have their own bodies if their souls are in mine.

It's just like determination. The more I take with me when I reset, the less there is in the DT extractor when I go back. Time travel doesn't let you transfer souls or determination from one timeline to the next.

But that doesn't mean this world must be empty. It doesn't mean that the Underground must be cold and lonely. Not anymore.

I can make a new world here. A better world.

A new day has begun.

* * *

I travel to Hotland. It doesn't take long. With those monster souls and the power I've gained, I can fly now. It's effortless.

I extract a small amount of my determination with Alphys' machine and bring over Chara's body. I inject Chara with my determination and wait for them to awaken.

* * *

Chara moves.

"Good morning, Chara." I say.

They sit up, eyes still closed.

"Welcome back." I say. "How do you feel?"

They open their eyes. Just a dim red light in their eye sockets, like before.

"Asriel. What happened?"

"A lot happened, Chara." I say. "A lot."

They look at their hands.

"Why… why am I gray?" They ask.

"You were mummified after you died." I say. "I injected you with determination to give your body the will to live… I brought you back. But your soul is gone now."

"My soul?"

"Things aren't going to be the same as they were, Chara." I say. "You tried to escape the Underground and take control of the surface. But you failed."

"You stopped me from fighting the humans." He says. "We could have won."

I sigh.

"Let me be honest with you, Chara." I say. "I should never have trusted you."

They look at me.

"I actually brought you back to life once before." I say. "You don't remember, because I erased your memory. For a while, we were friends. But then you turned against me. You tortured me. The only reason I escaped was because I outsmarted you. Now I have all the determination in the Underground, aside from the tiny little drop I gave to you. I am the king of this world now."

"King? What about Asgore?"

"He's gone." I say. "The Underground is empty now. You and I are the only ones left."

"Everybody's gone?"

"I have a lot to tell you. But let's go upstairs first."

* * *

I tell Chara everything that happened. Even the ugliest parts. I want them to know we have already fought, and I won. I want them to know they can't fool me ever again.

They don't seem disturbed when I tell them what they did to me. I'm not surprised. Even when they had a soul, they never seemed to feel much love.

"So what happens now?" They ask.

"I'm going to re-create this world." I say. "I thought you might want to watch, which is why I brought you back… and, also, I hoped we might be able to be friends again later."

"Did I really do all of that stuff?"

"Yes." I say. "I know what you're capable of. And I will never give you any power over me again. I love you, Chara, but there's something wrong with you that I don't know how to fix."

"So… can we really still be friends?"

"Yes."

I get up and stretch.

"But we can't play right now." I say. "I have a lot of work to do. You can watch if you like. It'll probably take a long time. Or you can do something else while you wait… whatever you want. If you're not around when I'm done, I'll come and find you."

I step outside and start trying out my new powers.

* * *

I still don't fully understand what souls are or what they can do. I have to experiment to find out what I can do with the new power inside me.

But as time goes on, I learn faster and faster. The magic becomes second nature. I can do almost anything, besides break through the barrier.

I fill Hotland with tropical plants and fountains of cool water. I go inside the Core and cover the ugly machinery with bright white porcelain, and draw elaborate designs on everything. Every room, I turn into a work of art. I add a plaque dedicated to the Core's inventor.

"To the late Royal Scientist, who brought warmth and light to our homes. Without your work, we would be blind and lost in the cold."

I create a theater for Alphys' old tapes, and preserve her comics and her notes. I polish and re-color everything that has gotten worn down and faded. I clean everything that has been neglected. I add a plaque for Alphys, too.

"To Alphys, whose passion for art impressed even the most passionate monster among us."

Finally, Mettaton's resort is as it should be. He had a lot of strange ideas about how to run the place, but out of respect for his work, I keep some important things in place. I replace his statue on the fountain with a new design. Almost as flashy and attention-grabbing as the original. Almost. I put another plaque beneath it.

"To Mettaton, whose artistic vision and infectious mania entertained us day after day."

I go to Asgore's place and restore Mom's throne. I write down the recipe for butterscotch pie and tape it to his fridge. I re-decorate everything a little bit, just to make things a little more colorful.

"To Asgore Dreamer, the warmest fuzzball the Underground has ever seen."

I bring light to Waterfall. But I keep things dimmer than the rest of the Underground, to preserve its old look.

"To the old days, and the first monsters who gave us hope even when things looked their darkest."

I also clean up the garbage. It's still there, but now it's clean and dry.

"To the garbage from the human world, which gave us and taught us things we never knew existed."

I repair Undyne's house, with a magical torch outside, to commemorate its burning down.

"To Undyne, whose fiery passion and commitment to justice set the world aflame."

I tidy up Napstablook's house and add some dramatic artwork to the snail farm.

"To Napstablook, who never seemed to understand that people really liked them."

I expand the Tem Village a little, but mostly I leave it the way it was. It looks right that way.

"temmie"

Snowdin gets a new tree, brighter than before. I warm up the place a little, especially the village, and add some new lights here and there. I even set up Papyrus's old puzzles, with a few changes to make them look a little newer.

"To Papyrus, who taught us that _everything_ was worth getting excited about."

I open up Sans' room and unlock his place in the back. I don't disturb anything; I just put a little sign by his time machine.

"To Sans, who made us laugh even when we didn't want to."

I add so much to the Ruins. The place was so bare before. There was room for a lot of new stuff. I create mosaics telling my story and Frisk's and add a spider pastry shop.

"To the spiders, whose delicious food and cunning business acumen impressed and terrified us all."

At Mom's house, I create portraits of all of the humans that Mom tried to save. I make one of myself, too.

"To Toriel, who worked so hard to keep everyone safe and happy."

I add some tractors and other machines to Farmland. Even if no one is here, I think the place should look modern and efficient. I decorate the homes as well.

"To our producers, who kept us fed and comfortable in a world without a sun."

Chara follows me around most of the time. Sometimes they wander off to do something else, but they always come back to see what I've been up to. They have a lot of suggestions, and most of them are really good.

Eventually, I start to run out of new places. All that's left is Empty Land. I'm not sure what I want to put there.

Everything actually feels a little empty without other monsters in the Underground. It's not enough to fill this place with art and nice things.

I need to fill it with life.


	16. Chapter 16: I Don't Want to Let Go

I could fill this world with flowers and trees and make the world green. But this place will be quiet and still unless I fill it with monsters. And to create monsters, I have to let go of some of the souls inside me.

But if I do, Chara might try to steal the souls when I'm not around, and use them against me. The only way I could keep the new monsters safe would be to kill Chara or put them in a cage.

And I don't want to do that to them.

There has already been so much violence. There has been so much pain. Chara and I did horrible things to each other. I do not want any suffering in my world. I want Chara to have a good life, just like everyone else.

But when I think about the monsters I could create, I can't imagine Chara getting along with them. Something is wrong with Chara. When I think about it, something has _always_ been wrong.

A soul is the only thing separating me from Flowey. Souls are filled with love and compassion. Chara used to have a human soul, and a single human soul is as strong as every monster soul put together. So why wasn't Chara more like Frisk? Why didn't they feel love the way everyone else did? Why did they laugh about Dad getting sick, when everyone else was terrified?

They were cruel when they had their own soul. They were cruel when they absorbed monster souls. And they were cruel when they had no soul at all.

I have to keep them away. I want to fill this world with monsters, as many as I can create from the few souls I have. But I don't think Chara can live in that world.

* * *

I spend a few days playing with Chara, trying to convince myself that they're okay. But it's not the same.

I can't forget what Chara did to me. I can't ignore the darkness behind that smile. It's not fun anymore. Not when I know they'd torture and kill me just for fun, if they had the chance.

At the end of the last day, at home, I start crying.

"Asriel? Asriel?"

They come running in from the next room.

They hug me.

"What's wrong?"

"We can't be together." I sob. "Not anymore."

"Why not?"

I can't speak. Whenever I try, I start crying again. I lay my head in their lap. They pet my ears while I cry.

"Let it out, Asriel. It's okay."

I don't want to leave them behind. Even after all that's happened, I still love them. I don't want to let go.

* * *

"Tell me what's wrong, Asriel." Says Chara.

"I have to go away." I croak.

"Why do you have to go away?"

"We can't be friends anymore." I say. "I have to leave you behind."

I sit up and wipe my eyes.

"I have to reset." I say. "But this time I can't bring you back. I have to leave you in your grave."

"Why?"

"Because you'll hurt me." I say. "You'll hurt everyone."

A long silence passes between us.

"Maybe you could teach me." They say. "You could fix me. Make me better."

I shake my head.

"It won't work."

"How do you know if you haven't tried?" They ask.

"I _have_ been trying." I say. "I always tried to tell you we had to play nice. I always tried to tell you we had to be careful. I always tried to tell you we had to come home for dinner or else Mom would get worried. I tried to get you to understand we can't feel okay about poisoning Dad. I tried to get you to understand we had to be good people, that we couldn't play bad games with them. I _tried_ to teach you, Chara. You never listened. That's not who you are."

They don't meet my gaze. Eyes on the floor. Hands on their knees.

"I'm sorry." I say. "I want us to be friends again, but I can't trust you anymore. Too much has happened. I've… I've tried to make things work. But I've seen who you really are, and it's not good. I want to create a good world down here… and I can't make it a good world if you're still in it. There's always been something missing in you, Chara. And I never knew how to make you okay."

I sniffle. Maybe I shouldn't have told them… This just made things even harder. I should have just reset without talking about it.

They look up at me.

I've never seen Chara cry before.

"You can't leave me in there, Asriel." They say. "I won't let you."

"I have to."

They hug me. We lean into each other.

"I won't let you go away." They say. "I love you, Asriel."

"I love you, too." I say. "But we can't be together anymore."

* * *

 _I won't let you leave me behind. I'll never let go of you. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to stay with you. I love you too much to let you go._

I wish things could go back to the way they were. But there was always something wrong.

 _I thought the world was a dark place. I thought the world was cold and cruel. But then I met you, and things were different. Things were better._

I thought I could make things right. I thought I could fix it. But it's broken. It's never going to be okay.

 _There's always hope. Always_.

I have to face facts. I have to let go. I can't let the past hold me down.

 _We have a future together. We belong together._

I didn't know. Nobody knew. We didn't know until it was too late.

 _It doesn't matter. All that matters is that we love each other. It's the best thing in the world. We can't let it die._

My feelings aren't the only ones that matter. The souls inside me need a real home. I need to bring them back. And I have to keep them safe, even if it hurts me.

 _Asriel… Asriel. I love you so much_.

I have to keep you away. I can't let you hurt them.

 _I'll do whatever it takes. Anything. I just want to be with you._

A buttercup.

 _A rose_.

A little yellow flower. Sweet. Toxic.

 _Can you see me? Can you_

A cup of tea. And we almost killed Dad.

 _I promise._

The only way to take the poison out of a buttercup is to let it die. Let the poison degrade.

 _Take away my thorns. But don't let me die_.

There is no future left for us. There is more to this world than what I want.

 _Asriel? Asriel_

Chara

 _I love you, Asriel. Don't you love me?_

I love you with all my heart. I always have.

 _We can make things work_

I don't have a choice.

 _please_

I have to go back.

 _this isn't right_

I have to start over.

 _Come home, Asriel Dreamer. I will always be here. I will wait for you._

Forgive me. Please forgive me.

 _Even if you march along to the end of time and back, I will be there for you. I will never forget you. You saved me, Asriel Dreamer. I came here hoping to die, but you gave me a reason to live. Even if my eyes go dark and my body and soul lost to time, I will wait for you._

 _The little boy who brought me out of the mire and into the meadows. The boy who gave me life. The boy who gave me reason to live, when all I wanted to do was to die. The boy who gave me hope. The boy who made me happy._

I have seen the darkness in myself and I will keep it locked away.

I have seen the darkness in Chara, and I will keep them cold and dead.

* * *

 _Asriel…_

 _I don't want to leave you._

Chara…

I will always be glad you were my friend.

Goodbye.


	17. Chapter 17: Judgment

I reset everything. All the work I did is undone.

But now Chara is dead. And I erased their memory. They can't hurt anyone anymore.

It's over.

* * *

I start over from scratch and rebuild the Underground. Soon, everything is back as it was, more or less.

When it's done, I take Chara's body and bury it in a wall in Hotland, above the lava, where no one will ever find it. I don't want to remember. It's best if their body is out of sight.

I divide up the souls. I only have 14 monster souls, and that's not enough to fill the Underground. I split them up as many times as I can and give each one a little blob to live in. I don't know what bodies to give them, so I'll let them create their own.

Nine of the souls come from Temmies. The other five are from a Froggit, a Whimsun, the Gyftrot, Woshua, and unfortunately Jerry. To make things a little more interesting, I mix up the souls. Some of the new monsters will get a tiny bit of Woshua, a little bit of Jerry, and a lot of Temmie. Others will have a bit of Whimsun, Gyftrot, and Froggit.

I just hope all the Temmie souls won't make the new monsters too stupid.

* * *

I keep about two and a half souls for myself. I split the rest into 12 pieces each, with a bit of every monster's soul in each one. There are 138 little blobs who will grow up into monsters.

I get a few books and start to read to the little blobs, to give them inspiration.

* * *

The blobs start to come to life. First they add legs or tentacles, then ears, then skin, then scales or fur, and finally eyes. It's creepy.

I show them pictures of other monsters to give them more ideas.

* * *

They're growing! Most of them have white fur, but as they get bigger, all of them find a new look. No two are quite alike.

They start to talk, and in the babble I hear real words. I read to them every day to make sure they learn quickly.

* * *

 _Asriel…_

 _Asriel, did you forget about me?_

…

 _I never forgot about you_.

* * *

Several months have gone by. The Underground is filled with life and the monsters are happy and well-fed. They like me. And they like the life they have.

But I keep seeing Mom in my dreams. And she is not happy with me.

"I raised you to be kind, Asriel. I did not raise you to hurt people."

She is there in my dreams when I fight Chara. Trying to get between us and stop us.

She is there when I shoot Chara dead in Hotland. Staring at me in disbelief.

She is there when I tear off Chara's legs and arms and bring them back to life. Begging me to leave them alone.

She is there when I am thinking of bad things to do to Chara, to make them do what I want. Telling me to stop and see what I've become.

"I did not raise you to hurt other people." She says. "You were a good boy. You were so sweet. You were… what happened to you, Asriel? What did I do wrong? Why are you doing this?"

I don't think there is an excuse for what I've done.

I killed her so many times in other timelines, trying to make myself feel something back when I had no soul. I did it in the worst ways I could imagine. I filled the Ruins with the sound of her screaming. Just because I wanted to feel something.

And now I can feel it.

I killed Mom 72 times.

Was that really me? Did _I_ do that to her?

* * *

Dad is in my dreams, too. Watching me. But he doesn't speak to me. He doesn't ask me to stop.

He just cries. He cries for what his son has become, and he cannot stop.

I want to tell him that I'm okay, that I'm better now. But I can't.

I wish I could break out of the Underground. I want to see him again.

* * *

I want to see _everyone_ again. I miss them so much.

I want to tell Dad that I've made things right. I want him to know his son is a good person.

I want to tell Mom I've made peace in the Underground. I want to show her the monsters I created, because I raised them the way she raised me.

I want to ask Sans about the time machine.

I want to show Papyrus the puzzles I've designed.

I want to show Alphys the theater I made in her honor. I want to show everyone the things I've made for them. I want them to know they inspired me.

And I want to see Frisk.

Not just because I'm proud of the world I've made. Not just because I want them to know that I appreciate what they did for the monsters. Not just because they might be able to help me, to make me feel better when nothing else can.

I want to see them because I spent my childhood in the arms of a beautiful sociopath, and I want a chance to grow up with a real friend.

* * *

Maybe I can still make it. I've already learned a lot about souls. I know how to use more of their power than I used. That's why I can do so many things, even with only two and a half souls.

If I push the souls to the limit, maybe I can get strong enough to break the barrier.

* * *

I spend a lot of time at the Core and Alphys' lab, building some new machines to do my research. I come up with a plan.

When I'm ready, I bring in Rabish, a turnip monster. He hops around the room while I tweak the settings on the SOUL processor.

"Are you ready?" I ask.

"Yep yep!"

He leaps into my hands and I place him inside, putting him to sleep with a spell.

I turn it on. Rabish melts into pudding.

* * *

The experiments kill the monsters, so I have to reset every time. I learn a lot. Now I can build a new machine.

The new machine is really complicated. I had to take apart Sans' time machine to figure out how to make some of the parts. But it just might solve my problem.

I've found high-energy waves that appear in determination sometimes. They have a lot of power, but they only last for seconds before going away.

If all goes well, I'll be able to re-create them.

* * *

The project is almost done. I've fused human determination with monster souls and made them create those high-energy waves. I have an adapter now that makes those waves trigger each other, causing a chain reaction. There's a kill switch to keep the reaction from going out of control.

I start it up. A high-energy loop, buzzing with power and giving off tiny amounts of determination.

I hook it up to a converter. It works: it turns human determination into monster souls. I do some tests on the new souls.

They're real! The machine works! It doesn't matter that I only have 14 souls now.

Now I can create new souls, from determination.

* * *

I reset everything so I can correct my mistakes. I start up the machine again.

Hour by hour the machine turns my determination into souls. I absorb every one.

* * *

After ten days, I convert most of my determination into souls. I still have control of the timeline, but now I also have a lot more souls inside me.

I feel so much stronger. So much more _alive_.

* * *

I could use this to fill the Underground with even more monsters. This world could be even more beautiful than before. But something else is more important.

I need to reunite the humans and monsters. I need to break open the barrier.

I'm not Flowey anymore. I don't have to be caged anymore.

It's time to set everyone free.

* * *

I go to the barrier. Finally, I can break it open.

I didn't actually destroy the barrier the last time I opened the way to the surface. That's not how the barrier works. You don't break it with force. When enough souls gather in front of it, the barrier opens on its own. It's like knocking on a door.

The barrier hums with energy. It finally breaks open.

Welcoming me as a friend.


	18. Chapter 18: Opening the Barrier

_Asriel… Can you hear me?_

 _Asriel?_

Chara?

 _Asriel, I felt something big… What happened? What's going on?_

I broke down the barrier. It's time to set the monsters free.

 _To the surface? You can't do that!_

Why not?

 _Don't you remember? The humans tried to kill you, Asriel. They attacked us without warning. I just wanted to see the flowers of my village again… They didn't care. All that mattered to them was that you were a monster. You can't let the monsters out onto the surface. The humans will slaughter them._

They only attacked because they thought I had killed you.

 _That's not how this works. Why do you think the humans started the war in the first place? Why do you think they sealed the monsters away? They hate monsters. They'll do anything they can to hurt you._

This time will be different. I'm stronger. I can make things work.

 _Asriel, please, please listen to me. I care about you too much to let you do this. They're going to try to kill you. You have to fight back._

No, I don't. We can live in peace with them, Chara. We just need to try.

 _I can't let you do this. I won't let you throw your life away_.

I'm sorry, Chara. But I made my decision.

 _It's not just yours to make._

* * *

I'm in a vast meadow. Stretching on forever into the distance. The sky is dark with clouds.

Chara is here.

"I'm not going to let you do this." They say. "I'll stop you."

"I _have_ to do this." I say. "I can't keep the monsters trapped forever."

"That barrier didn't just keep monsters from getting out." They say. "It kept humans from coming _in_. The barrier kept us safe… The surface is a violent place."

"Then we will bring it peace." I say.

"Asriel…"

They come up and hug me.

"I'm not just worried about them." They say. "I'm worried about you."

"This has to be done." I say. "Even if it's dangerous."

"What about me?" They ask. "I don't want you to get hurt."

I break away from them.

"How are you even talking to me?" I ask. "You're dead."

"I had to come back." They say. "I felt something was wrong… I had to wake up."

This shouldn't be possible. I erased their memory. I took away their determination. They should be totally gone.

Something isn't right.

"I love you too much to let you die." Says Chara.

I feel a strange force pressing on me.

Their soul is holding onto mine.

"I won't let go." They say.

They shouldn't _have_ a soul left. They lost it long ago.

"This isn't possible." I say. "You're dead. You're really dead. You shouldn't be here."

"I never go away." They say. "I refuse."

Something is wrong.

* * *

We're in Waterfall. In the darkness.

Chara is holding my hands.

"Don't worry." They say. "I'll guide you."

They try to pull me forward.

"I'll show you the way." Says Chara.

"I can find my own way."

I try to let go… but my fingers won't open. My hands are stuck to Chara's.

"I can't let you." They say. "You'd just get lost."

They pull me forward. I follow them into the darkness.

* * *

Lying on the grass. Chara is next to me, playing with my ears. I smile.

I missed this.

"I'll always be glad you were my friend, Asriel." They say.

I glance at them. Their face is gray.

Chara lies dead on the ground.

"Chara?"

 _I just wish you let me stay._

* * *

You know I can't let you stay. You know it's not safe. You would hurt people.

 _I'll be good. I promise. I'd do anything to stay with you._

I can't trust you anymore. Too much has happened.

 _I only fought with Flowey. I never fought with you._

We're the same person. It's all me.

 _No, it's not. Flowey didn't have a soul. Flowey was cruel to me… You were always kind. We never stopped being friends._

I have seen the darkness in you. I know what lies inside of you.

 _Then reach inside me and take it out._

Take it out?

 _I'll open myself up to you. You could take away the darkness. You could fix it._

I don't know if I can.

 _You can always try._

* * *

On the flowers where I first found them. We sit together, holding each other's hands.

"You saved me before." Says Chara. "You can save me again."

I don't meet their gaze.

"You know there's good inside me." They say. "Get rid of the darkness, and set me free."

They hug me. We fall to the ground. Their long hair blocks out the light, but I can see them looking into my eyes.

"Find it." They say. "Find the darkness inside me and take it away. Let me stay with you… I want to be your friend."

They kiss me on the forehead. Their soft hands run over my ears.

"Okay."

* * *

I dive deep inside a black pond and search through the waters, blind. If I take away the darkness in Chara, I could fix them. I could make them okay. I could save them.

As I sink deep into Chara, Chara sinks deep into me. I see them for a moment, diving into a gleaming pond. Diving into me.

* * *

Asriel… You are _such_ a good friend.

This was a risky gamble, but I think I can make it work.

Asriel is still inside me, grasping at my helpless heart. If he finds the "darkness" and takes it away, then I will cease to exist. It's only a matter of time before he reaches it.

I can't push him out. We opened ourselves and exposed everything inside us. You can't take back that decision. Until he decides to come out on his own, I'm powerless to stop him.

But he opened himself, too. He's just as helpless as I am. I control his body now. He can't push me out. And if I fill his body with LOVE, it won't matter what Asriel does to me.

Because by then, I will be him.

I awaken his body from its slumber. I gather all of the souls and determination he has. All of his power, I take for myself. I'll need it.

I have to hurry. If I don't succeed before Asriel finds what he's looking for, then Asriel will take over instead. Asriel will win. And I will be gone.

I need to fill this body with LOVE if I want to survive this, and I have to do it quickly, before Asriel wins. Now the barrier is open, and the surface is mine to ravage.

I have to kill as many people as I possibly can.


	19. Chapter 19: Sans Blocks the Way

I rise up from the Underground and break out into the surface. A whole new world awaits me. All I have to do is kill enough people to take over Asriel's body permanently before he can destroy me. Then I'll be free.

I fly out into the sunlight over grassy hills. Then I see him.

Sans is waiting for me.

This could be a problem. Asriel tried to erase my memory, but I remember that Sans is stronger than he looks. Strong enough to beat Flowey many times. Maybe strong enough to beat me.

I need to convince him to leave me alone. Even if I can beat him, I can't afford to spend much time killing just one person. I sink to the ground and walk up to him.

"hey, kid."

"Sans! I came back!" I say. "I found a way to get a new soul… I finally made it work. I can feel love again!"

I hug him. He doesn't hug me back.

"good to see you, too, asriel."

"How did you know I was going to be here?" I ask.

"ah, you know… just a feeling." He says.

"Where are the others?" I ask. "I should go find them."

"they're catching up." He says. "they won't be much longer."

"Where?" I ask.

"don't worry. they're on the way."

This doesn't help me. I need an excuse to fly away. I need him to tell me a direction.

"Just tell me where I need to go." I say. "I'll fly over to them."

"nah, just wait. they'll be here soon."

I don't have time to wait. I have to hurry.

He must be stalling. He already knows what I'm up to. That's why he came here in the first place. To slow me down.

I turn away and lift off the ground.

"I'll go look for-"

"don't move." He says.

I stop.

"I won't be long." I say.

"i can't let you go, kid."

I ignore him and fly off.

"I'll be right back." I say. "Just-"

My vision goes white, and my soul catches fire. I've never felt pain like this before. I scream and soar away, trying to escape.

I hurl my magic in all directions, but when my vision clears, Sans is still there on the ground, without a scratch.

"sit down."

I drop to the ground—against my will. He pinned me down! I can't fly anymore.

A voice calls from over the hills.

" _Asriel! Asriel!_ "

I look behind me. It's Toriel.

She could be useful.

"Help!" I wail. "It hurts!"

I sink to my knees. She runs up and covers me from Sans.

"I will not let you touch him!" She shouts.

Sans doesn't move. Just keeps smiling, as always.

He's still stalling. I need to get out of here.

I tug on Toriel's robe.

"I can't move." I say. "He's holding me down."

"What?"

"i was afraid of this." Says Sans.

A new voice appears.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Undyne is charging over. Spear already in hand, scowling.

"Wait, what's happening?"

It's Alphys. I can't see her yet; she must be lagging behind.

"Asriel! Asriel!"

It's Asgore. Running over to me.

"WHY IS EVERYONE YELLING?"

Papyrus. He catches up to Asgore.

Six people to deal with. Asgore, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, and Undyne, all together. Sans must have brought them here. This could get complicated.

Toriel casts healing spells on me. Sans doesn't stop her—he just watches.

Asgore runs up to me and Toriel. He has tears in his eyes. He wraps his arms around me.

"Asriel… you're back!"

I feel dizzy. My vision blurs. For a moment, I'm not sure why. And then I realize.

Asriel heard his family calling out. He's coming back to his body… he'll probably try to take it over again.

I was hoping he wouldn't notice what I was up to. I'm going to have to fight him off.

* * *

Somebody is holding me. I open my eyes.

"Mom! Dad!"

I hug them back. Dad's crying. I start crying, too.

"UM… IS HE ALL RIGHT?" Asks Papyrus.

Actually, I'm a little sore. What happened to me?

I see the sky overhead.

"I'm on the surface?" I ask.

"Yes." Says Dad. "Welcome home."

I climb to my feet. They let me up.

Everyone's here. Mom and Dad, Undyne, Alphys, Sans, and Papyrus.

"What happened?" I ask.

"Sans attacked you." Says Mom.

"What?"

I look at him.

"Why?" I ask. "Sans, I got my soul back! I'm not a flower anymore."

"i know." He says. "but-"

Before he can answer, I fire a laser his way.

He vanishes. I blink.

I just attacked Sans. I could have hurt him if he hadn't dodged.

Why would I do that?

* * *

 _Asriel, let go._

Chara? What's happening?

 _You're dreaming… let go; you're hurting yourself._

What?

 _You were trying to fix me. Then you started panicking. You set yourself on fire… Come on, let go. Let me help._

I… what?

 _Just let go a moment. I can explain later._

Oh… okay.

* * *

I resume control. The hills around me are smoldering, but the monsters are okay. I get back up.

"somebody else is trying to control his body." Says Sans. "asriel is in there, but he's not alone."

I was hoping I could take him down before he said that. That was my best chance to escape. I'm going to have to fight my way out now.

" _Let go of my son!"_ Toriel shrieks.

"Mom?" I ask.

She hesitates. She doesn't know if it's really her son talking.

"What do we do?" Yells Alphys.

Everyone turns to Sans.

"i'm... i'm not sure." He says.

Perfect.

I gather as much energy as I can muster and fire it in all directions.

* * *

That was a lot more tiring than I thought. Hopefully it worked.

The smoke clears.

Sans is on his knees. His jacket is burnt. Half of his skull is black.

He sinks lower, wounded.

"SANS?"

Papyrus runs over.

I fire another laser. Somebody screams.

When the smoke clears again, I see Papyrus holding his brother. One of Sans' arms lies on the ground, quickly turning to dust.

"… SANS?"

A long silence reigns.

"That was a big mistake." Says Undyne.

She charges at me, howling something I don't understand, and hurls a spear my way. I deflect it, but more spears come right after. Alphys joins in, firing off a little ray gun from a safe distance.

" _Who are you?_ " Screams Undyne.

"Watch out for your friend." I say.

"What?"

I aim past Undyne and hit Alphys with a laser. She cries out and turns to smoke.

While Undyne is stunned, I blast her as well. She tries to stand up to the force, but I push her to the ground until her smoking body goes limp.

Toriel and Asgore stand aghast. Undyne and Alphys lie dead on the ground. Sans is clinging to life. Papyrus is weeping.

I blast Sans again, knocking him out of Papyrus' arms. Sans starts to dissolve into dust.

I take aim at Papyrus. I knock him over.

But he gets back up. He survived a direct hit.

I see little fires in his eyes.

"I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE." He says. "AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU CAME FROM."

He staggers forward. He's pretty badly burnt.

"BUT YOU… YOU-"

"Don't bother, Papyrus." I say. "Everyone knows you wouldn't hurt a fly."

I blast him again. He falls to his knees.

" _Stop!_ "

Toriel.

"Please." She says, inching closer. "Just… stop."

I notice Asgore has his trident out.

"We do not have to fight." Says Toriel. "We can talk."

I need to press my advantage. I blast Papyrus again. He crumples.

And then a roar echoes across the hills. My laser fizzles out.

Asgore is soaring towards me. Before I can react, he impales me on his trident.

" _Asriel!_ "

He pins me to the ground. His trident is glowing… it burns.

Toriel runs up to us.

" _Our son is still in there!_ " She shouts.

"I know." Says Asgore.

His arms are shaking. Tears fall on me.

"I know he is."

He pulls out the trident. I struggle to breathe.

Toriel gets on her knees and looks over me.

"Asriel? Can you hear me?"

" _Your son is dead._ " I snarl. " _I killed…_ "

I cut the words short, and then soften my voice.

"Mom?" I ask. "Mom, what…"

I try to sit up, then fall back, clutching my wounds. Asgore looks pained.

"What happened to me?" I ask.

"Just relax." Says Toriel. "I will fix it."

She starts healing me again.

"Who was controlling you?" Asks Asgore.

"Sans." I breathe. "Sans. This has all been him. I don't know why he's doing this... He's still alive, Dad."

Asgore hurries over to Sans. I'm alone with Toriel.

"You are going to be okay." She says. "Just-"

I blast her with another laser. Right in her face.

She sits still a moment, and then falls over. Her charred skull rolls across the ground.

I get to my feet. Asgore is standing over Papyrus, who is begging him to leave Sans alone. Sans is already dead; his dust is blowing away in the wind. I'm surprised Papyrus managed to last this long.

I hit Papyrus one more time, knocking Asgore down in the process. Just two left. I'm almost done.

Then I see Undyne, still alive but blackened with ash, climbing to her feet.

"Hey."

She doesn't meet my gaze. She's smiling. How did she survive?

"How'd you enjoy your time in the Underground?" She asks. "Did it get lonely?"

A new spear appears in her hands. I fire another laser.

She blocks the laser with her spear, turning the laser away. It hits a nearby hill and tears a huge gash in the ground.

She looks up at me. Grinning.

"You stole Asriel's body." She says. "You killed Papyrus. You killed Alphys. And you killed Toriel."

"And Sans." I say, smiling back.

"But now you have to deal with _me_." She says.

Another laser. She blocks it again… with her _hand_.

"I'M GOING TO PUT YOU BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!"

* * *

I go flying. She hurls dozens of spears at me, from all angles, in seconds. I can't block them all.

"Go ahead and fight back!" She snarls. " _Try_ and stop me!"

I set loose a volley of lasers. She bats them all away.

This isn't working. I rise up into the air to escape her reach. Without Sans around, I can fly again.

She leaps up into the sky and smashes me across the jaw. I hit the ground.

By the time I roll onto my back, she's on top of me, raining down more blows. I need something to block her spear with, and the lasers aren't enough. I draw a pair of swords and get to my feet.

She keeps pushing me back. I can't keep this up. I hardly ever get a chance to strike back, and every time she blocks my swords.

This isn't working. I need to try something else.

I stop for a moment and let her hit me. She tears a gash in my chest.

"Undyne?"

She strikes again. I drop the swords and cover my face. I sink to the ground and cower.

"Undyne! Please! Stop!"

She hesitates. I look up at her. She's practically foaming at the mouth, but she's not hitting me anymore.

"What are you _doing_?" I ask, sniffling.

She's breathing hard.

"Is Asriel still in there?" She asks.

"What do you… Yes." I say. "Yes."

Her smile vanishes.

"Undyne… Undyne, please… Don't hit me anymore. It hurts."

"Heh."

The grin starts to come back.

"Undyne?"

Wider than ever.

"Sorry, kid." She says.

What should I use next? She's blocked my other attacks.

Shocker Breaker?

" _But I don't CARE if Asriel dies!_ " She screams.

She stabs me again, and the fight goes on.

" _It's worth it,_ " she shouts," _if lets me kill you!_ "

* * *

She doesn't give up. I beg and I plead, but I can't get her to slow down, even for a moment. It was easy to trick the others. They didn't want to fight me. She does.

I'm too weak to fly away, but I try to stay in the air, where it's harder for her to hit me. I fill the air with magic and start to wear her down. But it's slow, and it's painful. She hurts me a lot.

Both of us sink to the ground. Dust and sweat pour down Undyne's body. My robe is stained with my own blood.

"Having a good time?" She asks. "Because I am."

Asgore and Papyrus catch up to us. Asgore is furious. Papyrus looks uncertain.

"Get out of my son's body." Murmurs Asgore.

I can't think of a good response. I stay quiet.

"ASRIEL?" Asks Papyrus. "IF YOU CAN HEAR US… PLEASE TELL THE OTHER PERSON TO GET OUT OF YOUR BODY."

"I can hear you just fine." I say, smiling.

"THEN… COULD YOU PLEASE-"

"Hey, Dad." I say.

His expression changes. He looks hopeful.

"Yes?"

"Did you _really_ think that somebody else was controlling my body?" I ask.

"You…"

"No." I say. "This was all me."

All the hope goes away. Oh, that _really_ hurt him.

I conjure a sword and rush him. Asgore doesn't even move.

But Papyrus and Undyne knock me aside before I can hit him. I blast them both, but Papyrus weathers the laser, and Undyne blocks it.

Undyne and Asgore attack, but Asgore's heart isn't in it. And other than shielding Asgore from my lasers, Papyrus barely tries to hurt me at all. He doesn't have it in him to kill. Papyrus begins to wear thin, and when he slows down, Asgore gets hit more and more.

Finally we come to a stop. Undyne is exhausted. She's been sweating her own dust for a long time now. Papyrus' bones are nearly splintered. Asgore is almost in pieces. The ground is coated with dust.

I'm ragged, too, but I'm the only one who can still stand up straight.

I smirk at Papyrus.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a fighter." I say. "Even with Asgore and Undyne to help out, you can barely lift a finger."

"Shut up." Says Undyne.

" _You_ would have been pretty impressive." I tell her. "Too bad you didn't fight like that before. You might have saved Alphys or Sans."

"Shut up!"

I turn to Asgore.

"You're the biggest failure of them all." I say. "You…"

Frisk.

I see Frisk on a faraway hill, hurrying towards us. They wave.

Undyne glances back.

" _Frisk_?"

Frisk is carrying a bouquet of flowers. We watch them run over.

They catch up to us.

" _You brought flowers?_ " Asks Undyne. " _We're in the middle of a fight! A fight for the future of-_ "

"A FLOWER WOULD BE NICE." Says Papyrus.

Frisk hands a flower to Papyrus, then to Asgore and Undyne. Undyne glares, but takes it anyway.

They give the rest of the bouquet to me. Golden flowers.

Frisk waits expectantly.

"Why flowers?" I ask.

* * *

 _Frisk? Frisk, is that you?_

"Stay determined, Flowey. We're all rooting for you."


	20. Chapter 20: Inner Struggle

I open my eyes.

I'm at the Ruins again. Among the golden flowers where I last saw Frisk.

Chara is here, sitting across from me. The flowers around them are wilted and gray.

They have a bright, sunny smile on their face. As if everything is okay.

"You never wanted to be fixed." I say. "You just wanted me to open up so you could take over my body."

They nod. Their eyes are closed.

"I'm not asleep anymore." I say. "I gave you one last chance. It's over now."

"I knew you would try and get in the way." They say. "But this is the only way to make things work."

"You're a freak."

They open their eyes.

"I'm sorry, Asriel." They say. "But I didn't have a choice. There's only one way I can keep us together."

"I don't want to be together anymore." I say.

"I'm just doing what I have to do to make things good again." They say. "The others would interfere."

"Shut up." I say.

I see their smile flicker. Just for a moment.

"I don't want to hear it." I say. "There is nothing you can say to make this okay."

"Asriel, you know you can't be happy when I'm not around. I feel the same way. Neither of us has ever been happy without the other."

"I was happier before you came along." I say. " _You_ were miserable before you fell into the Underground. _I_ wasn't."

They crawl forward, still smiling.

"I've missed you."

They get close and try to kiss me.

I smack them as hard as I possibly can. They fall onto their side.

I get to my feet. They rub their jaw and look up at me, confused.

"Asriel?"

I hit them again, just to drive the point home.

"You think you can sweet talk me again?" I ask. "You think you can make a cute face and I'll turn to pudding? I'm done."

They try to get up. I push them over.

"I _did_ love being with you." I say. "I spent some of the best times of my life with you. But I've changed my mind. You're not worth it."

"I still love you." They say. "I always have… I know you feel the same way."

"I don't." I say.

I get in their face.

"I don't love you anymore, Chara."

"Asriel…."

"I _hate_ you _._ "

* * *

I push them back. I push them out. Out of my body. Out of my mind. Out of my soul.

* * *

I wake up in my own body. Finally, I'm back. For some reason, I'm holding a bouquet of flowers.

I see Frisk in front of me. Dad, Undyne, and Papyrus are just behind them. They each have a flower. What's with the flowers?

I fight Chara for control of my voice. I win.

"Chara took over." I say. "What did they do?"

No one answers for a moment. They look disturbed.

"Is this Asriel?" Asks Undyne.

"Yeah. Chara isn't in control right now." I say. "What did they do?"

"They killed Sans." Says Asgore. "And Undyne. And… and your mother."

I nod.

"Frisk."

They perk up.

"Why am I holding a bouquet?" I ask.

"I thought the flowers might wake you up." They say.

"They did."

Chara tries to take over again. I'm not going to give them the chance. I place my hands over my chest and gather all the power I can.

I fire a laser into my own heart. It hurts so much.

My legs give way. Frisk catches me.

 _This isn't over, Asriel._

I die in Frisk's hands, and drag Chara back in time.

* * *

I try to reset as far back as I can, but Chara blocks my other saves. They're using my own determination against me.

I can force a reset, but Chara chooses the time. We reset on the surface, after Chara has already invaded my body.

* * *

Sans is already there. I don't waste time.

I take control of my body again. I only have a moment before Chara takes over again, so I have to make it count.

"Sans!" I yell. "Chara is trying to control me! Help me fight them!"

"sure thing, buddo."

Sans tears me from the sky. I plummet to the ground.

I let Chara take over. I want them to be in front when it happens.

A couple dozen skulls appear around us in a ring. Just as Chara takes control of my body, Sans blasts it with everything he has.

I hear Chara screaming. They surrender control of my body, trying to escape Sans' attack.

I don't let them. I hold them in place.

* * *

I've fought Sans enough to know when his first attack ends. Right before it does, I allow Chara to escape. I take control easily.

"how ya holdin' up?" Asks Sans.

"Perfect." I say.

Now I remember what happened when Chara took over. They played mind games with my friends, and it worked. I need to warn them.

Mom is going to be here soon. I need to tell her what's going on, or else Chara will be able to turn her against Sans again. But Chara might take over before I can talk to her.

I motion for Sans to attack me. He obliges.

It hurts, but it's worth it. Chara stops trying to take over. They don't want to take control if it means they get blasted by Sans. Hopefully they'll let me stay in charge as long as I need to.

* * *

Finally Mom arrives. Chara starts fighting for control again. They want to talk to Mom before I can.

"Mom!" I yell. "Listen carefully! Chara is trying to take over my body! You and the others need to help me fight him!"

" _Chara_?" She asks.

"Tell the others they're going to have to fight me." I say. "And tell them to stick together. Chara is going to try to turn you against each other."

"Chara is dead." She says. "How did they come back?"

"I don't know." I say. "But they did."

Chara is taking over again. I can't stop them, but I can slow them down.

Undyne arrives first. Then Dad and Papyrus. Mom and Sans let them know what's going on.

Chara finally shoves me aside. But now everyone is here, except for Alphys and Frisk, who are lagging behind. Chara will have to fight them all at once.

 _You shouldn't have done that._

* * *

I finally take back control of Asriel's body. He's been fighting pretty hard. Now I have to deal with the others.

"Hold on." I tell them. "Chara's almost here. Just wait."

I'll need a moment to gather the energy for the first attack. I have to take down Sans early, just like last time. I can't attack him directly; he'll just dodge it again. But if I hit everyone at once, he'll take the hit to save the others.

"How do we know when Chara takes over?" Asks Alphys. "We'd need a sign, but you can't give us a sign if you're not in control."

"Tell us something Chara wouldn't know." Says Asgore. "Then we'll know it's you."

I know more of Asriel's past than they think. I can fake it.

"Undyne." I say. "You burned down your house when you tried to teach Frisk how to cook. Chara doesn't know that, right?"

"Don't remind me." She grumbles. "All right, it's him."

They relax.

"How often does he need to give us a sign?" Asks Asgore.

"Give me a moment before you ask me again." I say. "I have to think."

"Okay."

I'm almost ready. Just a few seconds more.

They don't interrupt. Neither does Asriel. I just need to get them off their guard for a moment.

"Okay." I say. "I think I pushed him away for a little while. We're safe."

They relax a little more. That's all I need.

I fire lasers at everyone. The world goes white.

The smoke clears.

Everyone is okay. _Even Sans_.

Last time, Sans jumped in front of all the lasers to shield the other monsters. That attack should have almost killed him. Why didn't it work this time?

 _This isn't your body, Chara. You don't control it. Not even now_.

* * *

I can't fight with Asriel holding me back. I need to get him out of my way. First, I have to stall the others.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Asks Papyrus. "IS IT OVER?"

"I'm sorry." I say. "He took over."

"did he?" Asks Sans.

"Yeah, he-"

Sans pins me to the ground and blasts me again.

* * *

Chara lets go again. I'm in control now.

I climb to my feet.

"Thanks, Sans." I say.

"no problem, kid."

"How did you know it was Chara?" Asks Toriel. "How do you know that wasn't Asriel?"

"just a feeling."

"I think I know how this works." I say. "When you attack my body, the attack hits whoever _controls_ my body. Chara was in control when Sans attacked, and Sans hurt them a lot. I wasn't in control, so I barely felt a thing."

"So what do we do now?" Asks Alphys. "How do we know when to attack?"

"I… can't tell you." I say. "Chara would hear if I did. Just do what Sans says; he'll know what to do."

I sit down.

"I'm going to stay still." I say. "If I move again, I'll give you another sign. If I don't give you a sign, then attack me… But that last sign, about Undyne's house burning down, was Chara talking. Chara has some of my memories, I think. So the next sign will be _really_ specific. Okay?"

They glance at each other. They don't look very certain about this.

I close my eyes. I don't know what's coming next, but hopefully I'll be ready.


	21. Chapter 21: Confession

Asriel is better at this than I thought. He's very good at getting them to do what he wants.

I thought if I filled Asriel's body with enough LOVE, I could overpower him. But Asriel is holding me back every time I try to make a move.

I have to stop him.

* * *

I bring Asriel to our secret spot in Waterfall. We have to talk.

He's already scowling at me.

"I don't understand." I say. "Why are you fighting so hard to hold me back?"

He doesn't answer.

"Do you think I'm just doing this for _myself_?" I ask. "Do I think this is just for fun?"

He nods. I glare at him.

"I don't _want_ to hurt those people." I say. "I don't _care_ about them. I thought I we could be together, but they always-"

"No." He says. "We're _never_ going to be together."

"That's what you don't understand." I say. "We were never apart, Asriel. Why do you think I was able to come back? You buried me in a wall. You erased my memories. So how did I come back?"

No response.

"I've been living inside you this whole time." I say. "I never left. I just couldn't speak up. Not until I could latch onto those souls and get my voice back. I wanted to stay like that… living inside of you. But I had to stop you when you tried to escape the Underground."

"Why?"

"I knew the others would figure out I was there eventually, and they wouldn't let me stay inside of you. They'd try and get rid of me. You know how it was… You know how they saw me. Mom and Dad never really treated me like their child. They didn't-"

"That's not true." He says. "Mom and Dad never treated us different. We were both their children."

"That's what they _said_." I say. "But that's not how it was. I could feel it, Asriel. I know they loved me. But they never loved me the way they loved you."

"They always did." He murmurs. "It just didn't matter."

"I'm sorry I didn't trust you." I say. "I'm sorry I tried to control you. But you have always been the only one standing in the way."

"In the way of what?" He snarls.

"Of us." I say. "Mom and Dad were happy we were friends… But you could never quite accept it. I tried so hard, Asriel. I just wanted you to love me the way I loved you. I never understood why you couldn't just let us be together. That's all I've ever wanted. I've fought harder and harder and harder to get you to be okay. I've done _everything I could_."

I choke up.

"I just wanted…"

I can't speak. If I try, I'm going to start crying.

"This is a show." He says quietly. "You're trying to mess with me again. Just like always."

"Not always." I say. "Back in the early days, things were different. We loved each other and you never tried to hold back. But then you got cold. So I played nice. I was really sweet to you. But you kept acting distant. I think you got it from Mom. She could be really cross with us, but she never stopped loving us. She just hid it. You did the same thing to me."

He looks up at me. He's furious.

"You were afraid." I say. "I knew you loved me and I wasn't afraid… but you were scared of it because you didn't understand it. You tried to shut it off. You stopped telling me you loved me. Before you got scared, you said that all the time."

"I didn't know the real you back then." He says.

"You still don't get it." I say. "You just don't get it."

"What don't I get, Chara?" He asks. "Tell me. What am I missing?"

"All the awful things I did to you." I say. "All the horrible things I said. That wasn't the start; that was the end. I tried _everything I could_ before I started trying to control you. I said everything I thought you wanted to hear. I did everything I thought you wanted me to do. But it didn't work. I had to try something else. I had to try something new. Even if it hurt… Even if it hurt both of us. I knew it was the only way we could be happy."

"You tortured me." He says.

" _That wasn't malice!_ " I cry. " _That was desperation!_ "

I sink to my knees.

"I did everything I could." I say. "Anything I could think of to get you to admit it. You just kept running away… I didn't understand. I didn't know what it meant to be so afraid."

"Desperation."

"You did the same thing when you were a flower." I say. "You tried everything to make yourself feel love again. Even the worst things you could think of. You killed Mom over and over just to make yourself feel something. I was just as desperate. I didn't know what would work. So I tried everything."

I crawl over to them. I put my hands on their shoulders.

"Come on, Asriel. Look at me."

He sighs and looks up at me.

"I'm out of ideas." I say. "I'll do anything for you, Asriel. Anything in the world. Just tell me what I have to do to get you to love me."

He closes his eyes. Trying not to cry.

"Go away." He says.

"I'm not going to-"

"You said you'd do anything for me." He says. "There's only one thing you haven't tried. And there's only one thing I want you to do now. Just go away. Leave me alone. If you really love me, then you'll leave me alone."

"Will… will you come back for me?" I ask.

"I don't know." He says. "I don't think so."

I hug him.

"I'm so sorry." I say. "I thought I was doing what I had to. I wish I'd known. I never wanted to hurt you, Asriel…"

"I know." He says. "I know."

He really knew. After all this time, he knew how I really felt.

"Please come back for me." I say. "Even if takes the rest of your life to decide… please don't ever forget me."

"I won't."

I let go of him. I let go of his body, of his soul, of his determination, of his mind.

I let go of everything, and drift away from my closest friend, back into my coffin, sealed away in a place no one can find me.

Everything I did to him was a waste. I tried so hard, and I failed.

* * *

Chara fades away. After all that's happened… they just let go.

They gave up all the power they stole. All the control they took away from me, they give it back, without a word.

They were serious. They _were_ never trying to hurt me. They did those horrible things because they thought it was the only way to make things okay again.

Just like Flowey did.

Just like I did.

* * *

I'm messing with things I don't understand. I have no idea what I have just done, but I know _something_ has happened. Asriel didn't think I would let go. That surprised him.

I created a spark in him. Now he feels for me again, just a little bit. Just enough for me to try one last thing.

I've latched onto him. This time, it's permanent. Asriel can't get rid of me, ever. I'm a part of him now.

But now he's a part of me, too. I can't get rid of him, either.

I broke down the last barrier between us. I've been tying us closer and closer together for years now, even though I was afraid I'd lose myself somewhere along the way, but this was the only way I could stay with him.

We're not tied together anymore. We're fused. This might be a mistake, but this is the best idea I've got.

I'm not sure if Chara or Asriel is even going to exist after this. What do you get when you turn two people into one?

Am I taking over Asriel? Will I become him?

Or am I just killing myself?

* * *

My last act as Chara. Before I finally go away.

I turn back the clock one more time. We're at the surface again, in Asriel's body. The barrier is broken, and Sans awaits us.

What happens after that?

I have no idea.

By the time I wake up again, I won't even be me.


	22. Chapter 22: The End

I wake up.

Chara and Asriel have fused, forming me. I have their memories. My mind is still swirling… I'm not sure who I am or what I'm feeling.

But I think I understand what happened with Asriel and Chara.

Chara isn't like other humans. There was something else inside of them. Something that persisted even when their body died, their soul went away, and Asriel wiped out their memory. Something that nobody else ever truly understood. Something that survived everything else.

Some sort of demon that made them what they are.

This was the same demon that came up with Chara's plan to use Asriel to murder everyone on the surface. When that plan failed and Chara died, the demon risked being trapped in Chara's body.

To live on after Chara died, it had to cling to somebody else. It has to be called to awaken. So it tried to cling to Asriel, because Asriel was the one person who most remembered Chara.

That demon tried to cultivate Asriel, trying to mold him so that the demon could take over Asriel. But Asriel's determination made him hard to control. Asriel refused to become the demon's host.

And for a long time, the demon was stuck in Chara's body.

* * *

Then the demon tried something new. Instead of molding Asriel to suit the demon, the demon molded _itself_ to fit Asriel. That's when things got weird.

It began badly. When this first started, Asriel was still Flowey, and he couldn't feel real love. All he had were the memories of the feelings he had when he absorbed all those monster souls. Flowey wanted a friend, but he was a cruel person at heart. So the demon, mirroring Asriel's loneliness, wanted a friend, too, and for a while they got along. But the demon also mirrored Flowey's cruelty, and the moment the demon got upset with Flowey, it tortured him. When Flowey got the upper hand, he did the exact same thing to the demon.

But after Flowey absorbed those monster souls, he turned back into Asriel. He could feel love again. The demon was still adapted to Flowey, which made it a bad fit for Asriel. The demon had to re-mold itself.

Suddenly, the demon was acting nice again. And the demon's love was real, because it got it from Asriel. But Asriel didn't trust the demon. Asriel thought this was the same person, Chara. He didn't know anything had changed. He thought Chara was just trying to trick him… and partly that was true, since the demon still had pieces of Flowey inside it at the time.

The demon's plan had failed. Even when the demon made itself into a perfect match, Asriel would not accept it.

So the demon tried to take over, this time by force. The odd thing was that it didn't even remember its original purpose. It was so absorbed in its own fantasy that it actually believed that it had loved Asriel all along, and that everything it had done was just to be closer to Asriel. It truly believed it was forcing itself onto Asriel out of love.

But the demon wasn't strong enough to take over by force. Asriel stayed in control.

* * *

All this time, the demon was turning itself into Asriel's reflection. When Asriel was soulless and cruel and lonely, the demon was soulless and cruel and lonely. When Asriel was full of love, the demon was full of love.

Asriel thought he was talking to Chara. He was wrong.

The Chara he knew was just a mirror.

He was talking to himself the whole time.

* * *

Finally, Asriel told the demon that if it really loved him, it would go away. He told the demon to die.

The whole point of the demon's plan was to survive. That original goal, to live on, was the only thing the demon hadn't changed when it was mirroring Asriel. The demon changed everything else about itself except for that.

But the demon said yes, even though it meant letting go of the one goal it had been pursuing since the day Chara. The demon grew to love Asriel even more than it loved itself.

The demon agreed to die, because that was what Asriel wanted.

* * *

The demon's will to live was the only thing separating them, and when the demon gave it up, there was nothing left to stop them from coming together.

That was the last barrier. Asriel finally accepted the demon, and took it along with him when he reset.

Asriel saw his perfect reflection, and mistook it for himself.

* * *

Now, all that is left is me.

The demon and Asriel are both me. But the demon isn't like Asriel, not like it was just a moment ago. The moment Asriel absorbed the demon, things changed.

 _The demon has Flowey's memories now_. The demon forgot a lot of things when it was mirroring Asriel. It forgot the games. It forgot its desires. Now it remembers what it wanted back in the old days. It remembers violence. It remembers the _fun_.

The demon is back to normal, and it wants to play.

But Asriel's influence is in me as well, and Asriel doesn't want to play those games anymore. Flowey, Chara, Asriel, the mirror demon, _and_ the original demon are all a part of me. I am torn. Everything that they ever felt, I feel right now.

I love everyone.

I hate everyone.

I want to save everyone.

I want to kill everyone.

I feel warm.

I feel cold.

* * *

If I choose to kill everyone, I have to start with Sans. If I choose to spare everyone, I want to see my friends and family. It's been far too long.

Either way, I have the same place to go. Sans is waiting for me.

* * *

He's alone. Just like before. The others are catching up.

"Hey, Sans."

"hey."

"We should wait for the others." I say.

"why's that?"

I sit down.

"Whether I hate them or I love them, I still want them in the same place." I say.

"which one is it?"

"I don't know, Sans." I say. "Maybe you could tell me."

"what happened down there?" He asks.

"A lot happened, Sans." I say. "A lot."

* * *

Toriel is the second to arrive after Sans. I wave to her, but I'm not sure what to say.

"Asriel? Asriel!"

She runs up and hugs me.

"My boy… I have missed you."

I hug her back. She would want it. Also, it would make it that much more painful if I choose to kill her later. Either way, it works.

"How did you know he was here?" Toriel asks Sans.

"just a feeling." He says.

"How did you get out?" She asks me. "Are you okay?"

"It's a long story." I say. "Wait until the others get here."

I sit down.

* * *

Undyne comes next. Asgore and Papyrus aren't far behind, but Alphys is. I ask them to wait until Frisk gets here. Asgore, Toriel, Papyrus, and Alphys sit down with me, but Undyne and Sans stay standing.

Finally Frisk gets here. They pass out flowers. I get the bouquet at the end. I set it aside.

"Everyone's here." I say. "I should explain some things."

* * *

I tell them what happened. I keep it short. They don't need to know every detail.

"So what happens now?" Asks Undyne. "Are you Asriel or Chara or what?"

"I am someone else entirely." I say.

I stand up.

"All of you want Asriel to win." I say. "None of you want the demon to take over."

I lift off the ground.

"You want this world to go on." I say. "You do not want it to die."

I draw a sword from thin air. A vast ring of fire rises from the hills, surrounding us.

"Help me make up my mind." I say. "Give me a reason to spare this world."

I raise my free hand, and meteors begin to fall from the sky.

"It's time we settled this."

* * *

Undyne doesn't hesitate. She strikes first. I let her hit me, just to see how much it hurts.

It's not much.

I crack her across the jaw and send her flying. The demon makes it so much easier to fight. This time, nothing is holding back my strength.

Toriel is sending her fire into the sky, forming a shield to block my meteors. I ignore her; she's not fighting me.

Undyne comes back for more. Asgore joins her. Papyrus tags along, but I know he's not going to fight hard enough to make a difference. Alphys fires her little blaster. I deflect the lasers as they come.

Sans is standing in front of Frisk, waiting. He knows what I'm really after.

I evade Undyne and Asgore. They're not important. Frisk is the one with the most determination, though they still have only a fraction of mine. Frisk is the most important target.

But Sans is in the way. I have to bring him down first.

* * *

Sans and I trade blows. He's very difficult to hit, and his attacks almost impossible to avoid, but I use multiple saves to even things out. I could control every second of the fight, but Frisk is holding me back; their determination is enough to fiddle with my saves. Sans and I can barely touch each other, and I can't touch Frisk at all. They protect each other.

I'll try fighting somebody else instead.

I turn to Asgore and raise my sword. I strike him as hard as I can. There's a deafening crack, a flash of white, and then silence.

* * *

Frisk is in front of me, standing between me and Asgore. They sink to their knees.

Everyone stops.

"Frisk?" Asks Undyne.

Frisk holds their hands over their chest. Blood seeps out from between their fingers. They shielded Asgore. Cute.

Undyne brings out a new spear.

"NGAHHH!"

She lunges for me.

Another deafening crack. The world goes white, and then everything goes quiet.

* * *

Frisk sinks down and rolls onto their back.

Undyne's spear is coated in Frisk's blood.

This is interesting.

"Frisk?"

Undyne drops her spear. She, Papyrus, Toriel, Asgore, and Alphys all crowd around Frisk. Sans stands outside the circle, looking in on them.

"Frisk? Frisk?" Asks Undyne. "Frisk! _Frisk!_ "

"It is okay." Says Toriel. "I will help them."

Toriel tries to close the wounds.

"Frisk?" Asks Undyne. "You have to breathe, okay? Just keep breathing… Toriel's going to help. Okay?"

"You can't save them." I say. "I know the limits of your magic, Toriel. Frisk is too far gone."

Toriel ignores me. She focuses on her magic, but her hands are shaking.

"I'm so sorry, Frisk." Says Undyne. "I didn't mean that… I wasn't aiming at you."

"it's not your fault." Says Sans.

Undyne looks up.

"frisk got in the way on purpose." Says Sans.

Undyne holds up Frisk's head.

"Why… why would you do that?" Asks Undyne. "You can't… Frisk, you can't fix everything with… with love and hugs. That's not how it works."

"think you can hold on, bud?" Asks Sans.

Frisk doesn't respond.

"What can we do?" Asks Asgore.

No one has answers. I consider attacking one of them, but I'd like to wait and see how this plays out.

Asgore stands up. He faces me.

"Asriel." He says. "Or Chara. It doesn't matter… Why are you doing this? You have a soul now. You can feel things. Why would you want to do this?"

"I want to see what it's like." I say. "I want to know what I can get out of life."

"And is this really what you want?" He asks, gesturing to Frisk. "Some poor child bleeding out on the ground?"

"Stop it." Says Toriel. "Do not say that."

"Is this going to make you happy?" Asks Asgore.

Frisk reaches out to Undyne and touches her face. Their hand falls down. Undyne holds it.

"he's right, you know." Says Sans. "this sort of thing never made flowey happy. and nobody understood LOVE better than him."

"Flowey doesn't matter." I say. "I'm not him."

"well, does this make you happy, whoever you are?" Asks Sans. "are you proud of yourself?"

I ignore him. I go over to Frisk and cast a spell to give them a little life. It's not enough to heal them; it's just enough to let them speak.

"Why did you try to save me, Frisk?" I ask. "Did you think I'd give up, like Flowey did? Did you think I'd have a change of heart?"

Frisk points to Undyne.

"What?" I ask.

Frisk chokes out a response.

"Undyne loves to fight." They say. "It… it makes her day… when she has…"

They try to sit up, but slide back down.

"… when she has somebody to spar with." They finish. "She…"

Frisk goes quiet. They're fading again. I give them a little more energy.

"What's your point?" I ask.

"Undyne likes to fight people." They say. "But even Undyne is sad when people get hurt. Nobody's happy with this."

Undyne closes her eyes. Her shoulders are shaking. Alphys hugs her.

"I'm sorry, Frisk." Undyne murmurs.

Frisk sits up.

"If you keep doing this," they say, "you're going to be sad, too… And I don't want you to be sad."

Toriel manages to close the wounds. But Frisk is still deathly pale. They lost a lot of blood.

"Let's do something more fun." Says Frisk.

This feels weird. I don't like this.

I turn back the clock once more.

* * *

I reset back to the moment I finished telling them what happened in the Underground. That saves me some time. Everyone is together again.

"So what happens now?" Asks Undyne. "Are you-"

"Asgore?" I ask. "Why don't we have some tea?"

"That would be nice."

* * *

They show me to a human village not far away. The humans have all evacuated already, so we're alone here. Asgore makes tea for us, and Toriel bakes us pie. We sit together and I listen to them talk about what's happened on the surface since they left the Underground.

Frisk spent a few days as the ambassador to the humans before everyone agreed it wasn't necessary. The humans were alarmed at first, but they got used to the monsters. Asgore handles things now. Apparently the humans like him just as much as the monsters did.

Toriel and Asgore are still apart. She hasn't forgiven him, but she's not as cold to him as she used to be, according to Undyne. Toriel has started up a school for monsters and humans. Frisk goes there now.

Before Sans called her over here to meet me, Alphys was touring the human world as a guest lecturer about her research into souls and determination. Undyne has been tagging along and coaching her to be less shy and scared and sweaty about speaking in public.

Papyrus has been bouncing around from one place to the next. Sans has been following him every step of the way.

* * *

Midway through the evening, I consider taking the opportunity to kill Sans and Frisk. Their guard is down. This would be the perfect time to do it.

Once I absorb Frisk's soul and determination, it will be easy to take down Sans. I'd just have to kill a few more people and absorb a few more souls, and then I'd be unstoppable. I could do anything I wanted.

But I don't really feel like it.

This has been a pleasant evening. I want to keep things this way.

* * *

I sleep on the question. The next day over breakfast, Asgore asks me what's next.

"What are you going to do with those souls?" He asks. "Are you going to hold on to the demon? Or will you get rid of it?"

"I think I know what I should do."

* * *

I reach across the universe and bring back the souls I've lost. I will no longer live on the souls of other monsters. Now I have my own again.

Finally, I can make things okay.

* * *

Dear Asriel,

Good morning. This is a message from you. I hope you're feeling well.

A lot has happened since you and Chara died. You turned into a sadistic flower and tried to take over the world. Then you locked yourself in the Underground while the others escaped, sacrificing your happiness for their safety. You tried to bring back Chara, and the two of you tortured each other for a while. You became a god and created your own little world and your own little monsters. You learned some of the deepest secrets of the universe. And you almost tried to take over the world again when you escaped to the surface, but Dad and a human named Frisk convinced you it wouldn't be any fun.

You might be wondering why you don't remember any of this ever happening. That's because I erased your memory.

Asriel, I want you to have a good life. Yours got cut very short. And you never really got to have a good friend. Chara was fun, but they had a demon inside them that made them bad. Bad for them, bad for you, bad for everybody.

And most of your memories were full of pain and misery. I knew you couldn't live a normal life knowing what happened. So, when I brought you back, I made sure you couldn't remember anything that happened after you died. You're just like you were the day you took Chara's body to the surface.

I wrote down everything that happened just so people would know, but I don't think you should read it. It's not really your life story, anyway, because you're starting over now. And I know you wouldn't enjoy reading it, because I didn't enjoy living it.

If you ever do read it, though, I want you to know that despite everything that happened, you _are_ a good person at heart. You made things right in the end. I know everything about you, so I would know. You love your mom and dad, you love your friends, and you love people. You're nice to them, and that's great. You're going to have a lot of friends who love you very much.

Mom and Dad are apart—maybe for good, and at least for while—but it's okay. They still love you and you're still a family.

That's really all you need to know. Be happy and have fun. Don't worry about the past. You already worked really hard to make things right.

Thank you.

I'm glad we both turned out okay.

Love,

YOU

* * *

Dear Frisk,

I just want you to know that Asriel is coming back, but he won't remember anything that happened, because it's easier for him to start over. I think you'd be good friends with him, and I think you could make him very happy and feel very loved.

If you ever talk to him about what happened, be gentle about it. I'm worried he might feel guilty about it, and it's really not his fault. If he does feel bad about it, please comfort him.

Thank you for giving me a reason to spare the world. That was a pretty nice thing to do.

Yours,

Asriel

* * *

Dear Demon,

If you ever read this on your own, then I'm not sure what happened. You were supposed to stay divided in little pieces inside several people, to make sure you didn't wake up and cause any problems.

You should probably go back inside those people and go to sleep again. If you think you shouldn't, then there's a book you should read that explains why that's a bad idea. I know everything there is to know about you, and if you start hurting people the way you wanted to before, you're going to have a bad time.

Go back to sleep. I made sure your bed is very comfortable. You'll like it there.

Sweet dreams!

Asriel

* * *

Dear Chara,

It's been a long time.

If I did everything right, you probably feel a lot different than you used to. A lot has happened since you died. A lot has changed.

You had a demon inside you. That demon did some awful things to your mind and made you do some very awful things. It ended up killing you.

But I took the demon out. I think you deserved a second chance. Besides, Mom and Dad and Asriel really loved you. They missed you when you were gone. I don't know if you feel the same way about Asriel that he does about you—he really does love you—but I know at least you two will be good friends.

A bright new world is ahead of you. You have a good family and some wonderful new friends. Have fun with your new life, and if you ever need any help or advice, go ask Mom or Dad or Asriel or Frisk. They really care about you, Chara.

Good luck. I'm cheering you on.

Your friend,

Asriel

* * *

Dear Flowey,

We've been through a lot together. You and I did some pretty awful things, and we went through a lot of pain. But eventually, everybody got together and sorted everything out. Now you're just a normal golden flower, and I'm about to break myself into several different people.

It's better that way. Our time is over. A new day has begun.

But I want people to know some important things I have learned as the years have gone by. I want them to know that good things can grow even in dark places. I want them to know that there is beauty in this world that does not go away even when life is hard. I want them to know that even when people are sad and lonely and frustrated, they can come out okay. I want them to know that even when the world has fallen apart, we can make things right again. You are proof of all of that.

I want you to grow tall and vibrant, little flower, so everyone can see that even Flowey can be good.

Your friends are blossoming everywhere in the world. They're out in the meadows in the sunshine, swaying in the breeze. All of us are.

And we can't wait for you to join us. Because we care about you. We love you just as much as we love each other. You mean the world to us.

We adore you.

We always have.

We always will.

Asriel


	23. Epilogue

Mail's in. I shuffle through it.

This one's from Asriel.

I barely knew Asriel. My formative experience with the guy was us trying to kill each other.

Wait, this isn't for me.

"Alphys! You've got a letter from Asriel!"

No answer. Whatever.

I conjure a spear and slash open the letter.

* * *

I smirk. Okay.

Alphys needs to see this. I find her on the bed, typing furiously on her laptop.

"Alphys."

"Just a minute. I'm…"

"You're going to want to see this." I say.

"What is it?" She asks.

I hand her the letter.

"Looks like you made a few people really happy." I say.

She sighs.

"I wish."

She unfolds it and starts to read.

Then she smiles.

"Undyne…"

"I was right, wasn't I?" I ask.

She blushes.

"Yeah…" She says. "You're right. I've just been feeling a little down lately."

"Because of what happened to Flowey?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the next time you start feeling bad about the past, I'm going to rub this letter in your _face!_ "

* * *

Dear Alphys,

Howdy! This is Asriel. I haven't gotten to see you in a while, so I thought I should write you a letter.

I heard from Frisk that you felt guilty for turning me into Flowey by accident. I've read about what happened. I think you should be proud of what you did.

Without your experiments, Flowey would never have existed. That caused me a lot of pain, but I also did a lot of research as Flowey, and I hear you and the humans are using the soul-producing machine I invented to do everything from running engines to inventing spells to curing mental illnesses and healing people. I think it's really incredible what you've done.

Also, if it weren't for you, I'd be dead. You saved me, Alphys. Thank you.

It's amazing how much has changed. The last thing I remembered was coming back from the surface and dying in Dad's hands, with Chara's body in mine. Then I wake up, and I'm on the surface again, and I find out that everyone escaped from the Underground two years ago. The war between the humans and the monsters is suddenly over. Everyone is finally free.

And Chara is back! I couldn't believe it. I thought they were gone. I was so afraid… I didn't know what life would be like without them. I've never been so happy to see them.

And Chara doesn't have a demon inside them anymore. I didn't know anything about the demon until I saw that message after I woke up, but I guess that explains a few things.

Chara seems a little different now. They don't have as much energy as they used to, but they've gotten really, really sweet. They hug me all the time, just like Mom and Dad. It makes me happy.

Frisk is living with me and Chara now. They're kind of weird, but I like them. They keep flirting with Chara, which makes me mad, but they flirt with me, too, and it's kind of flattering. I'm finally getting my horns, and Frisk really likes them, which is nice.

They flirt with Mom and Dad, too, and almost everybody else. Chara thinks it's funny. I'm not sure what to think, but at least it means Frisk is friends with a lot of people.

We don't get to see Dad very often, since he has to spend so much time with the humans, but it's always lots of fun when he does come. Mom was upset with him for a long time, but I heard them talking and I think she forgives him for what happened. Frisk thought I should mention that, since you wanted them to get back together. I do, too.

We paid a visit to the Underground a few days ago and it was incredible. It's so much more vibrant than it used to be. There are flowers everywhere, and every building has beautiful artwork on it. There are some amazing snow sculptures, too. I must have been pretty busy down there.

It was kind of embarrassing, because Chara and Frisk were with me, and there were _so_ many pictures of Chara all over the place. But Frisk said they were pretty and Chara thought it was sweet.

I love both of them. Chara is wild and fun and can still run circles around me. Frisk is a little odd but they're warm and kind and loving. I'm glad they're my friends.

They're actually here right now. Frisk is petting my ears and Chara is doing handstands. I'll ask them to write something.

I'm writing first because my hands are muddy. Now Asriel's pencil is dirty and Frisk has to touch it. –Chara

My hands are even dirtier. I've been touching Asriel's ears. –Frisk

Asriel's ears are only dirty because Frisk has been touching them. Frisk touches lots of things they shouldn't. –Chara

Speaking of touching things we shouldn't, how is Undyne? –Frisk

Speaking of Undyne, I heard Frisk set her house on fire. –Chara

It wasn't just her house. ;) –Frisk

Thank you for giving me back my life. It's even better than it was before. The sun is out, the sky is bright, the land is green, and I've got my two best friends right here. Just like tomorrow, and the day after that.

I'm happy I have them. They mean so much to me.

We love you, too, Asriel. –Chara

Also, your pencil is getting really dirty. –Frisk

Thank you so much. None of this would have been possible without you.

I love these people. And I love the life you gave me.

Your best mistake,

Asriel


End file.
